Rangers 5, Senators 1
Chris Kreider collected two goals and an assist in the first period as visiting New York became the first team to clinch a postseason berth.
Mats Zuccarello and defenseman Dan Boyle each scored and set up a goal while Tanner Glass also tallied for the Rangers, who pulled even in points with Anaheim (101) with three games in hand in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Derek Stepan and rookie Kevin Hayes each notched two assists and Cam Talbot finished with 23 saves to improve to 16-4-3 since replacing Henrik Lundqvist, who served as the backup for the first time since suffering a vascular injury.
Rookie Curtis Lazar scored for the Senators, who saw their season-high seven-game winning streak come to a halt and fell even in points with Boston for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Andrew Hammond was unsuccessful in his bid to begin his career with 16 decisions without a regulation loss after yielding a career-high five goals on 22 shots before being relieved by Chris Driedger (10 saves).
Kreider skated into a pass off the boards from Stepan and beat Hammond from the left faceoff circle at 12:38 of the first period to open the scoring, but Lazar answered 19 seconds later by settling a bouncing puck and burying a shot from the right circle. Boyle scored from the slot at 14:40 and Hammond failed to control the puck after Stepan's shot, resulting in Kreider securing his second goal of the contest and 20th of the season with one minute remaining.
Zuccarello's one-timer from the right circle sailed inside the near post 1:42 into the second before Glass exited the penalty box and unleashed a one-timer with 3:58 remaining in the period for his first goal as a Ranger. Glass' tally also ended the evening for Hammond, who was unable to match the accomplishment of Pittsburgh's Patrick Lalime (14-0-2 in 1996-97).
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kreider's three-point performance was the fourth of his career, and his multi-goal effort was the second this season. ... New York reached the 100-point plateau for the eighth time in franchise history. ... Ottawa went 0-for-6 on the power play while New York did not have an opportunity with the man advantage.