Capitals 1 - 4 Rangers
Final
  for this game

Nash leads Rangers past Capitals

Jan 20, 2014 - 4:57 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Rick Nash netted two goals and the New York Rangers notched a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan each scored once, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 24 shots for the Rangers, who have won three straight and six of their last seven games

"He's got confidence, you can tell that," Callahan said of Nash. "With the way he's holding onto pucks in the offensive zone, just putting the puck in the net. He's such a big body out there, when he grabs it he controls the game."

Alex Ovechkin potted the lone goal for Washington, which has lost five straight for the first time since an 0-6-2 stretch from Dec. 2-18, 2010.

Philipp Grubauer gave up three goals on eight shots before being removed late in the first period. Braden Holtby turned aside 17 shots in relief.

"It's not the way I wanted it to go," Grubauer said. "It's my job to stop the puck, and I didn't stop it today."

Nash started the scoring just over a minute in, as he picked off Dmitry Orlov's pass near the left point in the Washington zone and skated in on net before cutting in front and backhanding a shot past Grubauer's glove at 1:10.

With New York skating on a 5-on-3 with just under four minutes left in the opening frame, Nash slipped a shot through Grubauer's five-hole from the low right circle for a 2-0 lead at 16:06.

Just under a minute later, Stepan found the back of the net with a blast from the high slot that made it 3-0 and chased Grubauer at 17:49.

Ovechkin's one-timer from the left circle with Washington on a 5-on-3 a minute into the second brought the visitors within 3-1, but Callahan countered with a short-handed marker at 2:25 to restore New York's three-goal lead.

Lundqvist stopped all seven shots he faced in the third to secure the victory.

Game Notes

The teams split four games this season ... New York improved to 11-3-1 over its last 15 games ... The Rangers went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Washington finished 1-for-4 on the man advantage.






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