OTTAWA -- Craig Anderson ended a personal drought that covered seven games and one month, but the Ottawa Senators goalie was more interested in talking about his team than himself.
The Senators' second win in 14 games put everyone on the Ottawa side in a better mood. Ottawa snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday at Canadian Tire Centre.
"Coming home, putting on the effort we did and getting the results we wanted, it's a good feeling in here," Anderson said after posting his first victory since Nov. 11. "It's always good to win. It kind of fixes everything. Kind of puts everyone in a good mood, and you can live with mistakes a lot easier than when you lose."
Along with Anderson's 27-save performance, Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith both scored their second goal of the season for the Senators (10-13-7). Defenseman Cody Ceci added his fourth of the season, his second in two games.
"You hope it snaps the funk, but we recognized we needed to get some offense from guys, and some other guys stepped up as well," Ryan, who added an assist, said when asked about his personal struggles. "Less than 24 hours from getting home from a 15-day trip to get two points is huge."
The Rangers (16-12-3) lost their second game in a row and fell for the third time in the past four (1-2-1).
Michael Grabner's 15th of the season and Pavel Buchnevich's 11th accounted for the New York scoring. Henrik Lundqvist made 27 stops and became the 15th goalie in NHL history to record 20,000 saves.
The key goal of the game was scored by Smith, only eight seconds into the third period to give Ottawa a 3-1 lead.
"I was rewarded for losing the draw (to start the period)," he said. "And Tom (Pyatt) did the rest. He grinded it out down the boards and put a perfect pass right on my tape."
Rangers center J.T. Miller shouldered the blame
"It sucks, especially it was my guy," he said. "You can't set the tone for the period when you're down a goal like that. That's something that doesn't happen often. It's kind of a weird play. You wish it didn't happen."
Being down against the Senators in the third period is not an enviable position to be in, according to Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh.
"(Ottawa) is a frustrating team to play against," McDonagh said. "It's a style, everyone is aware of it. They have a lot of numbers back. The only thing I can pinpoint is our decision-making with the puck. Every time you play this team, it's about getting through the neutral zone, and they created a little more turnovers than we want when we play this team."
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault thought his team should have been more focused to start periods one and three.
"We gave up an early goal in the first, we gave up an early goal in the third," he 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 Senators said the Ryan goal was large, as it was the first time they jumped on top first in six games.
"Playing with the lead is a lot different than trying to chase the game," Anderson said. "You kind of stick with the program a little longer, especially when things don't go the way you want them to go. You're quick to fall off the beaten path. I think when you get the lead, even if they score and tie it up, you still stay on that path to get to your results."
Before the game, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion talked about how he still had faith in his team, despite the fact it was seven points out of a playoff spot. He also gave a vote of confidence to coach Guy Boucher, saying no changes would be made behind the bench.
"Since the beginning, we've had a great solid relationship," Boucher said later of Dorion's comments. "It's about trusting each other. It's easy in life to say you back up somebody when things go well. Anybody can do that. It's when things don't go well and everybody panics and that's when we see who people are. I know who he is."
NOTES: Senators F Alex Burrows was a healthy scratch. .... Rangers C Mika Zibanejad (concussion) practiced with the team as a defenseman Tuesday but did not travel to Ottawa. ... The Senators sent D Ben Harpur to their AHL affiliate in Belleville on Wednesday and recalled F Nick Paul. ... The Senators' next game is Saturday, when the play host to the NHL 100 Classic outdoors game at TD Place against the Montreal Canadiens. ... The Rangers' next game is Friday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
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