Senators 3, Rangers 0
NEW YORK -- Two quick goals from left winger Clarke MacArthur and center Kyle Turris late in the second period helped pushed the Ottawa Senators to a 3-0 victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
The win allowed the Senators (42-26-13) to vault into a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have one game remaining, Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
Goaltender Andrew Hammond improved to 19-1-2 by stopping all 26 shots he faced.
Senators center J-G Pageau scored his eighth of the season into an empty net with 1:29 remaining to cap the scoring.
Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 23 of 25 shots but more importantly finished the game healthy. He gave his team a scare in the first period when Senators center Mika Zibanejad fell on his left leg. Lundqvist was examined by a trainer and stayed in the game.
The Rangers (52-22-7) rested several regular players Thursday after winning the Presidents' Trophy on Tuesday night.
After a scoreless first period, the Senators struck for two goals late in the second period to break the game open.
It started when MacArthur made it 1-0 with his 16th goal of the season with 2:29 remaining. Turris moved the puck behind the net to right winger Mark Stone, who found MacArthur alone in the slot for a quick shot that beat Lundqvist to the catching glove side.
Just 1:04 later, Turris increased the lead to 2-0 with his 24th goal of the season. Defenseman Eric Gryba took a shot from that point that deflected first off MacArthur, then off Turris near the crease and slipped just past Lundqvist and across the goal line.
Twenty seconds before the two-goal outburst, Rangers center Kevin Hayes had a chance to put his team ahead 1-0, but with most of the net open, a sprawling Hammond got in front of Hayes' shot to preserve the scoreless tie.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault pulled Lundqvist for an extra skater with a little more than three minutes left in an effort to cut the Senators' lead. Pageau took advantage of the open net by scoring with 1:29 remaining to seal the win.
NOTES: Missing from the Ottawa lineup were G Robin Lehner (concussion), Chris Phillips (back), RW Chris Neil (hand), LW Matt Puempel (ankle) and LW Milan Michalek (upper body). The Senators scratched D Jared Cowen and LW Colin Greening. ... Rangers coach Alain Vigneault expects D Kevin Klein (hand) to be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. ... With the Presidents' Trophy clinched, the Rangers rested LW Rick Nash (undisclosed), RW Mats Zuccarello (general soreness) and D Marc Staal (undisclosed). ... Rangers RW Ryan Bourque made his NHL debut. The 24-year-old was selected 80th overall in the 2009 draft.