Senators Beat Rangers 3-2 To End Five-Game Losing Streak

Bobby Ryan finished with a goal and an assist, and Craig Anderson recorded 27 saves to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 home victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night and snap a five-game winning streak.

Senators vs. Rangers game score

Cody Ceci and Zach Smith also netted for the Senators (10-13-7).

Michael Grabner and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Rangers (16-12-3), who dropped their second straight game. Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves and became the 15th goalie in NHL history to earn 20,000 stops.

“Our expectations were to do better on the trip,” Ryan said. “We let some points get away. To come back and regroup less than 24 hours after getting home from a 15-day trip and to get two points at home is huge.

“I think when that final buzzer went, I think there was a sigh from a lot of people, fans included. It was a good feeling. They are a good team over there, and a good goaltender, so it was a good confidence boost for us.”

Chris Kreider assisted on Buchnevich’s goal at 4:40 of the third period to make it 3-2. The forward raced past Ottawa defenseman Johnny Oduya on the right-wing boards to set up Buchnevich’s 11th of the season.

Ryan gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 4:01 of the first period, scoring his second of the season on a pass from Mark Stone.

Grabner tied it 1-1 at 3:57 of the second period when he skated in behind Erik Karlsson at the left post and flicked in a pass from Mats Zuccarello. 

“We gave up an early goal in the first, we gave up an early goal in the third,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “We know this team well, we know how they defend. There are some plays in front of you that you have to make, and their first two goals we didn’t make the plays through the neutral zone and they came back to make us pay. There’s no doubt that goal early in the third really hurt us.”

The Rangers next host the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, while the Senators will host the Montreal Canadiens in the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic on Saturday.

OTTAWA, ON – DECEMBER 13: Dion Phaneuf #2 of the Ottawa Senators skates against Michael Grabner #40 of the New York Rangers at Canadian Tire Centre on December 13, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)