Ottawa, ON (Sports Network) – Mike Sauer’s first career goal, a power-play tally late in the third period, was the game-winner as the New York Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators, 5-3, at Scotiabank Place.
Derek Stepan, Ruslan Fedotenko and Erik Christensen also scored for the Rangers, who have won three of their last four games. Henrik Lundqvist finished with 24 saves and Brandon Dubinsky added an empty-net goal in the winning effort.
Mike Fisher scored twice and Jason Spezza tallied his seventh goal for Ottawa, which fell to 1-4-1 in its last six games.
Ottawa goaltender Brian Elliott allowed four goals on 27 shots.
With the score tied, 3-3, in the third period, Sauer put the visitors on top for good. Chris Neil was in the box for charging, and Brandon Prust held control at the bottom of the left circle. Prust sent a pass through the slot for Sauer, who wound up and fired a slap shot into the back of the cage from the right side with 5:19 to play.
Dubinsky’s empty-netter inside the final minute sealed the win.
After Fisher opened the scoring for Ottawa with a power-play goal 2:54 into the game, New York tied it up less than two minutes later, when a give-and-go between Marian Gaborik and Stepan beat Elliott. From the top of the left circle, Gaborik passed to Stepan in the low slot, and Stepan deked, waited out the Ottawa netminder and punched home his seventh goal from in close at 4:40.
The Senators’ second power-play marker gave them a 2-1 edge 34 seconds into the second stanza. Erik Karlsson, from the right side, passed across the slot for a successful snap shot one-timer by Spezza from inside the left circle.
Gaborik’s nifty pass from the rear boards shortly after helped to again tie it up. Gaborik found Fedotenko in the lower left circle, and his shot from a sharp angle beat Elliott at 1:43.
Ottawa moved ahead 3-2 at the 8:47 mark of the second, courtesy of Fisher’s ninth goal. A long lead pass by Nick Foligno sent Fisher in on a partial breakaway, and he found the back of the net with a wrist shot while falling down near the top of the crease.
Christensen somehow found room between the near post and Elliott’s pad when his wrist shot from a very sharp angle — he was along the goal line at the base of the left half-wall — slid behind Elliott at 3:30 of the third.
Dubinsky scored his 13th goal…This marked the fourth straight win for New York at Ottawa…The Sens fell to 7-8-1 at home this season…The Rangers were 1-for-4 on the power play, while Ottawa ended 2-for-4 with the extra skater.