Mats Zuccarello scores in final minute as Rangers win their ninth in a row

Eventually, things even out. Opposing shots that once hit posts go in. Bounces that went your way don't. Lucky breaks stop. Winning streaks end. They are unavoidable realities of an 82-game grind.

The Rangers beat the Maple Leafs, 4-3, Sunday night at the Garden to extend their winning streak to nine. The streak easily could have ended at seven on Saturday in Ottawa, but the Blueshirts won in a shootout.

on Sunday night, the Rangers struggled for most of the game, often lacking energy while playing their fourth game in six days, but they still extended their streak (their longest since 1972-73) thanks to Mats Zuccarello's backhanded rebound goal with 53.8 seconds to play.

"I saw Mac [Ryan McDonagh] get the puck and just took a chance that he was going to put it on net," said Zuccarello, who had two assists after recording a hat trick when the Leafs visited the Garden on Oct. 30. "Lucky bounce. Not our best game, but we found a way to win. We've got nine in a row, and you feel it in the room. It's a nice feeling, to be confident. I have some good bounces going in. Hopefully it's going to last."

With a team-leading nine goals and 18 points, the Norwegian winger has been one of the biggest contributors on offense and a big reason the Rangers are 14-2-2, with an NHL-best 30 points.

"Skillful guy, great eye all the time on the ice," said goalie Antti Raanta, who made 23 saves, allowing more than one goal for the first time in four starts (he has won them all). "When he gets the chance to score right now, he usually does."

He's also passing like a magician. With the score tied at 2 heading to the third, Zuccarello set up Derick Brassard in front at 3:47 for a 3-2 lead. Zuccarello also had lined up McDonagh's third goal in four games from a similar spot along the left boards 44 seconds into the second.

The Leafs answered at 5:15. After an icing, Dion Phaneuf's knuckleball from just short of the right point got between Raanta and the right post.

Both teams played on Saturday and were weary from the start. The Rangers managed only eight shots in the first period on Jonathan Bernier. Raanta, who hadn't played since Nov. 7, was sharp enough, stopping 11 of 12, but he was unable to deny Peter Holland, who curled past Viktor Stalberg at the left post. His backhander at 17:57 beat Raanta, who entered 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average and .976 save percentage.

Midway through the second, Raanta stopped Nazem Kadri twice, knocking away the first and absorbing the second try. Then, at 13:55, the Blueshirts got a gift. Derek Stepan's 90-foot bouncer went through Bernier's pads and trickled across the line for a 2-1 lead. "You don't see that often," McDonagh said. "At the same time, he makes a smart play by putting it into a tough spot."

The Leafs pressed and tied it at 2 at 17:38. Joffrey Lupul, in front of Raanta, pushed Dylan McIlrath away, snuck behind Keith Yandle and chipped in a rebound.

"If you keep working hard, you're going to get bounces," Girardi said. "If you're not playing well and you sit back, you're not going to get them. We had to work for all our bounces tonight."