Rangers 1, Hurricanes 0: Cam Talbot recorded his third shutout in four starts and captain Ryan McDonagh scored early in the first period as New York posted its season-high sixth straight victory to complete a home-and-home sweep of visiting Carolina.

Signed to a one-year, $1.45 million contract extension on Saturday, Talbot paid immediate dividends by making 18 saves for his sixth career shutout and third of the season. The 27-year-old, who blanked Philadelphia on both Nov. 19 and 28, needed to make only four saves in both the first and third periods versus the Hurricanes.

Derek Stepan notched an assist to extend his point streak to three games for the Rangers, who have won 14 of their last 15 meetings with the Hurricanes. Mats Zuccarello also set up a goal for the second straight contest.

Anton Khudobin turned aside 30 shots but fell to 0-8-2 on the season for Carolina, which has been outscored 23-8 by New York during its eight-game losing streak at Madison Square Garden. Jay McClement won 13-of-16 faceoffs for the Hurricanes, while Elias Lindholm registered a team-high three shots on goal.

Talbot received all the offense he would need at 4:10 of the first period. Skating behind the net, Stepan sent a nifty no-look pass to the left doorstep that McDonagh converted for his second goal of the season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Carolina coach Bill Peters told reporters he expects C Jordan Staal to make his season debut as soon as Dec. 29 against Montreal. Staal has been sidelined with a broken right fibula since Sept. 23. ... New York D Dan Girardi registered three shots in 22:49 of ice time while playing in his 600th career game. ... A moment of silence was observed for New York City Police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were killed by a gunman in a proclaimed act of revenge for the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in Staten Island.