For the Rangers, Monday’s six-hour flight to Vancouver should be a pleasant one.
The Blueshirts, coming off a 1-4-1 skid, rode a two-goal night from center Derick Brassard and toppled the Ottawa Senators, 4-1, Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
With the Rangers leading 2-1 in the third period, Brassard raced ahead of the field to collect a bouncing pass, fired from the top of the left circle and beat goalie Craig Anderson at 10:08.
It certainly qualified as a breakout evening for Brassard, who had only one goal in the previous nine games.
Jesper Fast added an empty-netter with 1:31 left.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh also had a big night offensively with a goal and two assists, which tied a career high.
The Rangers (18-7-3) tightened their defense in the third, allowing Ottawa only three shots on Henrik Lundqvist in the final 20 minutes.
The Rangers are 12-4-1 at home but play the next three on the road in Western Canada. It also was a rare win here over the Senators, who came in 8-0-1 in their last nine games at the Garden.
With the Rangers having scored only six goals in the previous four games, coach Alain Vigneault juggled his lines. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the first period, not five-on-five but on power-play goals.
With Chris Kreider screening Anderson, McDonagh fired a high one-timer from the left point that opened the scoring at 8:40. The captain’s fourth goal of the season was the first by a Rangers defenseman in 10 games.
When the Senators’ bench drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, apparently for repeated chirping to an official, McDonagh’s wrister from near the same spot was deflected by Brassard, also above Anderson’s glove, at 13:47.
It was only the second game all season in which the Rangers had more than one power-play goal. They had two against Carolina on Nov. 30 during a stretch of nine games in 15 days in which they slumped, posting a 3-5-1 mark.
Lundqvist, who finished with 23 saves for his 14th win, had to be sharp, and a little fortunate, early in the second. He made an acrobatic stop on Bobby Ryan, whose rebound hit the side of the net. Ryan then was held and dumped by J.T. Miller, but the Rangers fended off the man-advantage.
Marc Methot’s shot, which deflected off Staal’s stick and past Lundqvist at 6:01 of the second, brought the visitors within one.
On Sunday night, the Blueshirts, coming off a 1-4-1 skid, rode a two-goal night from center Derick Brassard and toppled the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden, 4-1.
With the Rangers leading 2-1 in the third period, Brassard raced ahead of the field to collect a bouncing pass, wound up and fired from the top of the left circle and beat goalie Craig Anderson at 10:08. It certainly qualified as a breakout evening for Brassard, who had just one goal in the last nine games. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh also had a big night offensively, with a goal and two assists, which tied a career high. Jesper Fast added an empty-netter with 1:31 left .
The Blueshirts (18-7-3) tightened their defense in the third period, allowed the Senators just three shots on Henrik Lundqvist in the final 20 minutes. The Rangers are now 12-4-1 at home, but play the next three on the road in Western Canada. It also was a rare win here over the Senators, who came in 8-0-1 in their last nine games at the Garden.
After scoring just six goals in the last four games, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault juggled his lines, but the Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the first period, not 5-on-5, but on power-play goals. With Chris Kreider screening Anderson, McDonagh fired a high one-timer from the left point that opened the scoring at 8:40. The captain’s fourth goal of the season was the first by a defenseman in 10 games.
When the Senators’ bench drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, apparently for repeated chirping to an official, McDonagh’s wrister from near the same spot was deflected by Brassard, also above Anderson’s glove, at 13:47. It was only the second game all season that the Rangers had more than one power play goal. They had two against Carolina on Nov. 30, as part of a nine game in 15 days stretch when they slumped, posting a 3-5-1 mark.
Lundqvist, who finished with 23 saves for his 14th win, had to be sharp, and a little fortunate, early in the second. He made an acrobatic stop on Bobby Ryan, whose rebound hit the side of the net. Ryan was then held and dumped by J.T. Miller, but the Rangers fended off the man-advantage. But Marc Methot’s shot, which deflected off Marc Staal’s stick and past Lundqvist at 6:01 of the second, brought the visitors within one.
The Blueshirts had to thwart another power play stemming from a thoughtless interference penalty from Kreider on Alex Chiasson in neutral zone with 5:24 left.
With 57 seconds left in the second, Dylan McIlrath, who received more ice time than usual, blocked a shot and was prone with the puck under him, but David Dziurzynski scooped it out and whipped a shot that Lundqvist lunged at and snared with his glove.
In the third, Anderson, starting his 11th straight game, stopped two great opportunities by Oscar Lindberg and Kevin Hayes around the five-minute mark.