Senators blank Rangers to snap skid
OTTAWA -- A different kind of pressure was on the shoulders of Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan when he read a sign held up to the glass by a young boy during Sunday's pre-game warmup.
It read: "Bobby, Dad said if you score we get a puppy."
Ryan came through for the child and his team by notching the winner as the Senators snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-0 blanking of the New York Rangers at Canadian Tire Centre.
"I wanted to get that poor kid a dog," joked Ryan, who had called out his teammates for not "buying in" after Friday's loss to the New York Islanders. "I felt more pressure with that than (stepping up) after saying what I said last game."
Senators goalie Craig Anderson also rebounded from being pulled in the first period of his last start with a 35-save shutout, his third of the season.
"It's a new day," he said when asked if he had extra determination to rebound from a poor showing. "Everything's a new day, you start fresh. Whether you have a good game or a bad game, that's being a pro and moving on, making sure you're ready for the next game.
"We came out from start to finish and played with intensity, played with purpose," said Anderson, who made 14 of his stops in the third period. "I think right from the opening shift we played in their zone, had some good shifts and built momentum. It kind of carried over the rest of the game."
Winger Mike Hoffman and center Jean-Gabriel Pageau had the other Senators' goals. Pageau's was an empty netter and his league leading fifth shorthanded tally.
New York goalie Henrik Lundquist made 30 saves as the Rangers had a two-game winning streak stopped.
"Nobody likes to lose, but I really thought we were building momentum," said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. "We had played a real strong game in Carolina on the road. I thought we were getting somewhere and then we come up with this tonight, so ... thanks, I'm out of there."
Ryan snapped a scoreless tie with just 19.9 seconds left in the second period when he tapped in a loose puck after a shot by defenseman Jared Cowen hit the post. It was his 17th goal of the season and fourth in the last five games.
"It's important to play the clock and to give up a 4-on-1 with 20 seconds to go, obviously it's not something you want to do," said Lundqvist. "I think after the first we recovered and started playing some very good hockey. But that goal, yeah, it was definitely tough to give it up that late."
Hoffman increased the lead at 2:40 of the third, using Ryan as a decoy on a 2-on-1 while firing a shot that beat Lundqvist on the glove side.
"I was thinking of sending one across to Bobby, but soon as their D slid at me, I didn't have that choice anymore," Hoffman said of his 22nd of the season. "So I just tried to pick a corner and I managed to find the back."
The Rangers had their best chance in the second when center Kevin Hayes had an open net after a pass from winger Jesper Fast, but he fanned on his shot.
As a result, the Rangers were blanked for the fourth time this season.
"Tonight we didn't have enough dots connected with our passes," said defenseman Ryan McDonagh. "We didn't come out of our zone clean many times. You could just see the difference there. They were able to use their skating ability and speed a lot. We didn't generate a lot of O-zone time and rush looks."
"It's just disappointing. We had some real good confidence going here, playing consistently the way we needed to play. You've got to give them credit. They were pretty on top of their checks for the majority of the night. They didn't give us many turnovers or opportunities to cut the rink in half there. At the same time, we've got to continue to work hard and work together out of our zone. We got a little bit spread out and it caused us to try and do some stretch plays and hope plays at times."
The Senators penalty killing unit, ranked 29th in the league entering the game, survived three Rangers' power plays. Ottawa was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
"We wanted to bounce back after our last two games, especially last game at home," said Pageau. "I think tonight we played the way we wanted, and we've got to play the same way for the rest of the games.
"I think everyone knows what we did out there to make it right. Everyone paid attention to all the details. I think we all know our job and if we all do it, we put the chances on our side."
Both teams have one game left before the all-star break. New York hosts the Sabres on Monday night, while Ottawa entertains Buffalo on Tuesday.
NOTES: Rangers LW Rick Nash missed the game with a lower-body injury, but coach Alain Vigneault said there's a "good chance" he'll be in the lineup Monday ... Rangers D Dylan McIlrath was scratched for the third game in a row and 12th time in the last 14 games ... Senators LW Milan Michalek missed his first game since breaking a finger in Friday's loss to the Islanders. It was the second time this season Michalek broke a finger blocking a shot ... Senators D Marc Methot and C Kyle Turris missed their fourth and third games, respectively, with lower-body injuries. Coach Dave Cameron is not prepared to guess whether either would play in the team's final game before the break.