Rangers 4, Capitals 1: Brian Boyle recorded his first goal of the season midway through the second period and captain Ryan Callahan tallied 41 seconds later as visiting New York posted its fifth victory in six outings.
Derek Stepan and Brad Richards also scored and Martin Biron turned aside 28 shots in his fourth start for the Rangers. Rick Nash notched a pair of assists to extend his point streak to a career-best 10 games, but saw his goal-scoring stretch end at five contests.
Boyle gave New York a 2-1 lead with 9:07 remaining in the second period. After taking a back pass from defenseman Ryan McDonagh, Boyle patiently waited before beating Braden Holtby with a shot from beyond the left faceoff circle.
Callahan doubled the advantage after deflecting Nash's blistering one-timer from the right circle for his eighth goal of the season. Nash also assisted on Richards' tally with 1:12 remaining in the third period to seal the win.
Callahan's goal spelled the end for Holtby (three goals on 19 shots), who was relieved by Michal Neuvirth (10 saves). Defenseman Steven Oleksy netted his first career NHL tally for the Capitals, who have dropped two in a row after winning five of their previous six.
GAME NOTEBOOK: McDonagh and Carl Hagelin also had a pair of assists for the Rangers. ... Oleksy opened the scoring at 2:16 of the first period after his shot from the point caromed off the far post. Stepan answered over nine minutes later after backhanding the puck from beyond the goal line off the right skate of Holtby and into the net. ... Washington captain Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet and remained one point shy of 700 for his career.
NY Rangers | Washington | |
Carl Hagelin 2 | Points | Steve Oleksy 1 |
Brian Boyle 1 | Goals | Steve Oleksy 1 |
Carl Hagelin 2 | Assists | Jason Chimera 1 |
Ryan Callahan 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Martin Biron .966 | Save Percentage | Michal Neuvirth .909 |
Martin Biron 28 | Saves | Braden Holtby 16 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Rangers | 30 | 4 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 8 | 23 |
Washington | 29 | 1 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 6 | 31 |