OTTAWA, Ontario — The Rangers’ power play posed zero threat and their top line had nothing in the tank — until, suddenly, it did.
Scoring three goals in the final 5:23 of regulation, the Rangers rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Senators on Saturday afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre to extended their winning streak to four games.
Chris Kreider put the Rangers on the board at 14:37 of the third period with a power-play goal, their first man-advantage tally since they scored one against the Canadiens in the first game of their winning streak on Oct. 16. Just over a minute later, Ryan Lindgren knotted the score 2-2 before Barclay Goodrow buried the go-ahead goal at 17:57.
The Rangers, who failed to convert on four power-play opportunities in their previous game, against the Predators on Thursday, are now 3-for-24 with the man-advantage this season.
The Senators grabbed an early lead. The Rangers were caught cheating up the ice and Ottawa’s Nick Paul buried the puck on a three-on-two rush just 41 seconds into the game. The Rangers were passive in the first period, compared to how they competed in the previous three games — though defenseman Jacob Trouba dropped the gloves with Senators star Brady Tkachuk at 11:55.
Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev bounced back after giving up the early tally. In the second period, he stopped all 10 shots he faced and kept it a one-goal game though the Rangers were pinned in their zone a handful of times.
Ottawa outshot the Rangers 10-4 in the middle frame, with six of those shots in the final three minutes of the period. Georgiev stood tall through the Senators’ late-period surge, and made a clutch save on defenseman Artem Zub. The 25-year-old Bulgarian finished the game with 26 saves.
The third period started with 4-on-4 play, after a Tim Stutzle slashing penalty nullified Ottawa’s power play from K’Andre Miller’s holding penalty. Artemi Panarin’s turnover at the blue line in the Senators’ zone led to a Josh Norris shot that found its way under Georgiev’s pads to give the Senators a 2-0 lead at 1:04.