Rangers 4, Hurricanes 3
NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers jumped to a three-goal lead and survived a strong push from the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden on Monday that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Goals from centers Derick Brassard and rookie Oscar Lindberg, left winger Chris Kreider and right winger Mats Zuccarello proved just enough for goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 33 saves.
Centers Jordan Staal and Victor Rask along with left winger Chris Terry scored for the Hurricanes, who could not overcome a shaky night from goaltender Cam Ward, who allowed four goals on 22 shots.
A breakaway goal by Terry pulled Carolina to within 4-3 at 8:23 of the third period. Skinner sprung Terry with aerial pass, and Terry slid a backhand shot through Lundqvist's legs.
The Rangers scored a pair of power-play goals during the first period.
Zuccarello's team-leading 11th goal gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead. After Brassard won a faceoff, Zuccarello wristed a shot through a maze of bodies and past a screened Ward at 1:09.
After scoring five seconds into that power play, Lindberg converted 12 seconds into the Rangers' third power play of the period. Defenseman Dan Boyle fed the puck to Lindberg in the slot for a quick shot and his ninth of the season with 1:37 remaining to make it 2-0.
Staal drew the Hurricanes to within 2-1 early in the second period. A bad line change by the Rangers paired with poor defensive coverage left Staal in front of the net to knock home pass from Andrej Nestrasil at 1:40.
But 44 seconds later, Kreider caught Ward napping for his fourth of the season to restore the Rangers' two-goal lead. Kreider simply gathered a puck and put it on net from a bad angle, and the shot beat an unprepared Ward along the ice to make it 3-1.
Ward committed another egregious error later in the period. With a Rangers penalty expiring, Ward cleared the puck right to center Kevin Hayes, who was just stepping out of the box. It turned into a 2-on-0 with Hayes feeding Brassard for an easy goal to make it 4-1 at 15:49.
Rask gave the Hurricanes life with 2:01 left in the period, beating Lundqvist through the legs with a wrist shot after a 3-on-2 rush to cut the lead to 4-2.
NOTES: The Hurricanes were without LW Nathan Gerbe (ankle) and D James Wisniewski (knee). ... Hurricanes C Jordan Staal played in his 200th game with the team. He was acquired from the Penguins in a draft-day trade in June 2012 and signed a 10-year deal less than two weeks later. ... Rangers C Jayson Megna was recalled from the AHL on Monday. He participated in pregame warmups but was not in the lineup. ... Rangers D Dylan McIlrath was a healthy scratch after playing in two straight games. D Dan Boyle, who sat the previous two games, returned to the lineup.