Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider each scored to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the host Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
Ryan Lindgren had three assists after having five in his first 21 games combined this season, while Sammy Blais and Mika Zibanejad each added an assist for the Rangers, who ended a three-game losing streak.
Jaroslav Halak, starting in place of Igor Shesterkin, made 34 saves to pick up his first win as a Ranger after dropping his first six starts, including one in overtime.
Shane Pinto scored, and Cam Talbot made 33 saves for the Senators, who saw a two-game winning streak halted that had been their longest since a season-best four-game winning streak from Oct. 18-24.
Drake Batherson and Nick Holden each had an assist for the Senators.
The Rangers struck first when Talbot failed to make a clean save of Lindgren’s shot from the point, enabling Vesey to pounce on the loose puck and swat it into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead at the 10:34 mark of the first period.
The Rangers doubled their lead with 9:08 left in the second period when Goodrow deflected Lindgren’s shot past Talbot, with Blais also assisting on the play.
Ottawa cut the lead in half less than three minutes later when Pinto’s give-and-go along the boards with Batherson led to Pinto wristing a shot past Halak with 6:13 left in the period, with Holden also getting credited with an assist.
The Rangers extended their lead to 3-1 when Kreider deflected Lindgren’s shot from the point past Talbot with 6:01 left to play, with Zibanejad also assisting on the play.
The Rangers outshot Ottawa 36-35 and went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Senators went 0-for-3.
After the Rangers and Ottawa meet in New York on Friday, the Rangers host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday before welcoming the St. Louis Blues on Monday.
The Senators return to Ottawa for a two-game homestand against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
