NEW YORK – Derick Brassard scored two goals to help the New York Rangers to a 4-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and Brassard had first-period power-play goals, and Brassard added an insurance goal midway through the third period, converting on a breakaway after a pass from McDonagh. Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves, allowing only a second-period goal by Ottawa defenseman Mark Methot, to help the Rangers (18-7-3) end a two-game losing streak.
Rangers forward Jesper Fast scored into an empty net with 1:31 to play.
Craig Anderson, making his 11th consecutive start, finished with 27 saves for Ottawa (14-8-5), which saw its two-game winning streak end. The Senators lost in regulation at the Garden for the first time in 10 games; they had been 8-0-1 since a 5-2 win by the Rangers on Oct. 3, 2009.
Neither team generated much offense until Ottawa's Mika Zibanejad was sent off for an offensive-zone interference penalty at 7:16 of the first period. The Rangers capitalized when Keith Yandle controlled the puck along the left half-wall and slid a pass back to McDonagh, whose straightaway slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line went through traffic and past Anderson at 8:40. It was the fourth goal of the season for New York's captain and his first in 10 games.
Just over five minutes later, the Rangers converted a bench minor against the Senators into their second power-play goal. McDonagh took a wrist shot from nearly the same spot he scored from earlier; this one was tipped by Brassard past a defenseless Anderson at 13:47.
Lundqvist preserved the two-goal lead in the final 30 seconds when he robbed Zibanejad twice and Zack Smith once in a five-second span during a scramble at the left post.
Ottawa failed to score on a power play early in the second period but cut the Rangers' lead in half at 6:01 when Methot's slap shot from the left point hit the stick of New York defenseman Marc Staal and deflected past Lundqvist. It was Methot's second goal of the season.
Lundqvist used his glove to rob rookie Dave Dziurzynski on a snap shot from the slot with 57 seconds remaining in the second period to preserve the Rangers' 2-1 lead.
The Rangers allowed Ottawa only two shots on goal in the first half of the third period before Brassard picked up McDonagh's bouncing breakout pass and took a slap shot from the slot past Anderson at 10:08 for his ninth of the season.
Ottawa center Kyle Turris, who left the Senators' 3-2 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Saturday with a leg injury and was a game-time decision, was in the lineup and took regular shifts.
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