OTTAWA, Ontario _ Erik Karlsson snapped a puck from a bad angle that went off Rangers center Derek Stepan and inside Henrik Lundqvist's right post with 4:11 left in the third period to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 victory on Thursday in the first game of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
The Rangers wasted a superb 43-save performance by Lundqvist and failed to generate consistent scoring chances against the Senators neutral zone trap, and when they did, Craig Anderson, with 34 saves, kept them at bay.
The task for the Rangers in Game 2, here at Canadian Tire Center on Saturday afternoon, is to break down the Senators' system.
In the third period, with the score 1-1, the chances were few and far between as mid-ice was filled with players swatting pucks away.
Ryan Dzingel , who scored the Senators first goal, wound up from 17 feet on a rush down the left side and Lundqvist snared it with his glove at 6:17. Anderson matched that when he got his glove on Chris Kreider's rising shot, deflecting the puck high off the glass behind the net.
After a scoreless first, in which Lundqvist made 21 saves, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second at 7:10 on a power play when Ryan McDonagh wrister from the left point went past a screen by Kreider to beat Anderson.
The Rangers got the man-advantage after Cody Ceci tripped Michael Grabner. Grabner, who gave the Senators fits with his speed all night, had beaten Ceci to the puck and forced the defenseman to trip him.
The Senators kept coming at the Rangers and the Blueshirts couldn't extend the lead. After two icings, coach Alain Vigneault called a time with 4:10 left in the second to give his weary five on ice a break, a smart move.
Anderson then came up big when Oscar Lindberg sent an angle pass to Grabner streaking to the net again, but Anderson broke up the finish.
The next great opportunity was by Ottawa's Viktor Stalberg, who came in alone, but Lundqvist stopped him with his right pad.
With 2:23 to go, Brady Skjei was sent off for holding Tommy Wingels. The Senators were 0-for-3 on power plays three power plays with nine shots, but tied the game on their fourth. Kyle Turris fired a shot off Lundqvist's shoulder, and Dzingel pounced on the rebound at 18:39 to forge the tie.
The Rangers had put themselves behind the eight ball in the first period with three penalties. Lundqvist basically killed two power plays almost single-handedly, and had 12 saves by the halfway point.
At 4:23, after a giveaway by rookie defenseman Ben Harpur, Grabner had a clean breakaway and hit the post. Kevin Hayes went off for a soft slash on Derick Brassard at 5:27 and Lundqvist made two quick stops on Bobby Ryan and Mike Hoffman, and then three more on shots by Alex Burrows and Mark Stone. Lundqvist somehow lunged to the right post to absolutely rob Stone alone in front with his glove arm on the ice, and then miraculously got a pad on the rebound.
Grabner then had a short-handed breakaway and missed the net.
With 3:57 left in the first, it was the Senators' turn to have too many men on the ice, and McDonagh split two defenders to bust in on Anderson, but got too close to the goalie, who stood his ground and knocked the puck away. Skjei then ended the power play with 45 seconds left by hooking Stalberg.
