Rangers beat Senators to snap slide

OTTAWA - Last season, even though Henrik Lundqvist posted a 9-4-2 record in the final 15 games, the Rangers barely missed the playoffs when they lost to the Flyers in a shootout in Philadelphia on the final day of the season.

If the Rangers are to reach the playoffs this season, Lundqvist will have to match or better that mark.

Lundqvist, who made 28 saves Friday night, was almost perfect in the Rangers' 4-1 victory over the Senators. The Blueshirts scored twice in 12 seconds early in the second period to break open the game and snapped a three-game losing streak, restoring some much-needed confidence.

The win, coupled with Carolina's loss to the Blackhawks, put the Rangers back in seventh place in the East with 72 points to the Hurricanes' 71. The Buffalo Sabres are in ninth place with 68 points, with four games in hand on the Rangers.

"We have allowed teams to catch us," coach John Tortorella said. "It's going to be a dogfight to the end, but we're in a better position than we were last year."

"We're a pretty good team when we have some luck. Lately, we haven't gotten anything for free," Lundqvist said. "I think everybody is aware how tight it is and how serious the situation is. It's a great challenge. It's still in our hands. An extra save and extra goal can make a big difference going down the stretch here."

Lundqvist displayed his feisty side early in the third period, wading into a scrum and getting his glove in the face of Nick Foligno, who fell on top of him. During the ensuing four-on-four, Derek Stepan took a feed from Wojtek Wolski, sped down the middle ahead of Erik Karlsson and beat Craig Anderson high to the glove side for a 4-0 advantage.

Sergei Gonchar's low slapper on the power play, with Matt Gilroy off for high-sticking, went through some legs and past Lundqvist at 4:56 of the third period to ruin his bid for a ninth shutout.

The Rangers improved to 20-13-1 on the road, including three straight victories.

With the Rangers leading 1-0 on Vinny Prospal's first-period goal, the two goals in quick succession gave them a rare cushion. It was only the third time they had scored more than two goals in eight games.

"It's nice being able to have a cushion," said Ryan Callahan, whose line, with Artem Anisimov and Brandon Dubinsky, had 10 of the 27 shots. "It's a big win for us, especially with Philly coming up on Sunday. We didn't want to have this continuing."

Mats Zuccarello, with his first goal in 19 games, backhanded in a rebound of Stepan's shot at 6:26. On the next faceoff, Anisimov powered across the blue line, cut right to left and buried a forehand at 6:38 for a 3-0 lead.

It was an unusual night for Anderson. He had been superb against the Rangers when he was with Colorado, going 4-1-1 with a 1.48 goals-against average.

In the first, Prospal's seeing-eye wrister from the right boards provided a 1-0 edge at 10:08. Sean Avery and Chris Phillips came past the net as the puck flew past the screened Anderson. It was the fourth goal in 14 games for Prospal, who missed most of the season after knee surgery.