Lundqvist Sharp As Rangers Beat Senators 4-2
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Marc Staal, Lias Andersson, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad scored, and Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves as the New York Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-2 Monday night.
The Rangers extended their dominance at Madison Square Garden, improving to 8-1-0 at home in their last nine games.
Mark Stone scored twice, Brady Tkachuck had two assists and Craig Anderson stopped 29 shots for Ottawa, which fell to 2-8-1 in road games this season.
Andersson broke a 1-1 tie at 3:26 of the third period, benefiting from a fortuitous bounce. Ryan Strome's shot was deflected off the goaltender, then caromed of Andersson into the back of the net. The seventh overall selection from the 2017 NHL draft originally did not make the team when training camp ended, but has been with the Rangers since early November.
Ottawa challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the referee's initial call of a good goal stood.
Kreider finished a 2-on-1 opportunity with a slap shot that extended the Rangers lead to 3-1 at 8:18 of the third period. Filip Chytil delivered a cross-ice pass to set up the opportunity.
Kreider has notched nine goals and five assists as the Rangers built a 10-3-1 record since Oct. 30.
The Senators knotted the game 1-1 when Stone was able to find a loose puck in front of Lundqvist at 13:03 of the opening frame. The Rangers challenged for goaltender interference but the call was not overturned and New York forfeited their timeout. Tkachuck and Colin White assisted on the play.
The 21-year-old White missed the previous game with an upper-body injury but returned to action Monday.
Stone hammered a one-timer at 17:17 of the third period to pull Ottawa within one. Tkachuck and Matt Duchene assisted on the play.
Staal gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 10:55 of the first period, converting a one-timer in the slot. Mika Zibanejad forced a turnover in the offensive zone after the Rangers had extended pressure, and found Staal alone in the high slot. Staal snapped a streak of 94 games without a goal that dated to October 2017. Jesper Fast also assisted on the play.
Lundqvist picked up career victory 440 and is five wins away from tying Terry Sawchuk for sixth place on the NHL's all-time wins list.
Zibanejad added an empty-netter at 18:21 of the final period and has scored a goal in each of the four games he has played in against the Senators.
NOTES:
Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello was sidelined for the second straight game with a groin injury. The Norwegian winger has missed eight of the previous 10 games. As part of the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, the Rangers wore purple warm-up jerseys, and used purple tape during pre-game warm-ups.
Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch Saturday against the Capitals. New York scratched Frederik Claesson.
UP NEXT:
The Rangers now visit the Senators on Thursday.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
