Anderson blanks Rangers, lifts Senators to fourth straight
NEW YORK -- Craig Anderson made 33 saves as the Ottawa Senators defeated the New York Rangers 2-0 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.
Anderson entered the game with a career 1.88 goals-against average against the Rangers and continued to his stellar play Sunday. He wasn't asked to do much despite the large shot total but he made a stellar left pad save in the first period against left winger Brandon Pirri to keep to the score 0-0.
Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau and right winger Mark Stone scored for the Senators, who have won four straight.
Antti Raanta made 18 saves for the Rangers, who have lost four of six and four straight at home.
After a scoreless first period, Pageau and Stone struck for goals in the second period.
Pageau's goal was the result of poor net-front coverage by New York. Left winger Tom Pyatt garnered the attention of defensemen Brady Skjei and Kevin Klein and passed the puck to Pageau alone at the top of the crease for the goal at 1:54 that gave the Senators a 1-0 lead.
A fortunate bounce off referee Frederick L'Ecuyer led to Stone's power-play goal at 16:11. A clearing attempt ricocheted off L'Ecuyer and right to left winger Mike Hoffman, who found a cutting Stone for the stick-side goal that increased the lead to 2-0.
The Rangers nearly got on the board with just under eight minutes to play when a shot from the point hit bodies in front and fell behind Anderson in the crease. But defenseman Mark Borowiecki swept the puck out of danger before any Rangers center Derek Stepan could get a stick to it.
Raanta went to the bench for an extra attacker with 2:30 remaining but New York could not generate a single dangerous scoring chance.
NOTES: Senators C Derick Brassard played his first game against the Rangers since he the offseason trade that brought him to Ottawa in exchange for C Mika Zibanejad. ... The Senators scratched LW Max McCormick and D Fredrik Claesson. It was possible McCormick and Claesson would play, but coach Guy Boucher left the recent AHL call-ups out of the lineup. ... Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said LW Pavel Buchnevich (back) is doing off-ice work. Buchnevich has not played since Nov. 12. ... The Rangers scratched C Oscar Lindberg and D Adam Clendening.