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Photo by Ken Warren / jpg

With ice surfaces at a premium in the New York metropolitan area, that is where the Ottawa Senators found themselves working out Sunday afternoon.

“I always love practice where you can see the outdoors,” said Senators coach D.J. Smith. “It’s the NHL, but they are still kids at heart. They like to have fun and I thought they had fun today before a tough back to back (against the Rangers Monday and the Islanders Tuesday).”

The added bonus — or fear factor, for some players — was the appearance of gigantic fake spiders hanging from the rafters, leftovers from a Halloween public skating party.

“I got a little scared about that … I don’t like spiders,” said goaltender Anders Nilsson, who is expected to start Monday against the Rangers.

“It was a little different,” said winger Anthony Duclair. “It was sort of a change-up, but I think the boys enjoyed it today.”

Photo by Bruce Bennett and Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography / Getty Images

NILSSON MEETS LUNDQVIST?: There was no official word from the Rangers Sunday, but 15-year NHL veteran goaltender Henrik Lundqvist could get the call to go head-to-head against Nilsson on Monday. “I’ve played a few games in my career against him,” said Nilsson. “He’s a really good goaltender and one of the best goalies to come out of Sweden ever. It’s always fun to play against him, always fun to play against all Swedish goaltenders. But it comes down to me making saves and tracking the puck and so on and I need to go out and do my job and I can’t think about who is standing at the other end.” … Nilsson, who will sport a flashy new red mask Monday, can be a sharp dresser, but he’s not trying to match the GQ-cover boy Lundqvist. “He has a great sense of style and suits and I just try to stay in my path and have whatever I have,” he said.