OTTAWA, Ontario _ If the idea was to give Henrik Lundqvist enough work to prepare for the playoffs, mission accomplished.
For the Rangers, it was another game with nothing to play for and with seven regulars resting again, Lundqvist was severely tested Saturday by the Senators, who were fighting for home-ice advantage in the first round, and made 30 saves, some of them of the highlight-reel variety.
The 3-1 loss came complete with a scare, albeit short-lived, early in the second period.
Just 17 seconds in, Mike Hoffman's slapper struck Lundqvist in the left shoulder, and stung. The Rangers' goalie winced, went to his knees in pain, but played on. He made two saves soon after, and then stopped Cody Ceci and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, before Hoffman, from between the circles, scored the first goal of the game at 3:04.
The Blueshirts _ who have scored once in two games _ didn't generate nearly enough chances, with just 19 shots on Craig Anderson, and scrambled on defense.
Mika Zibanejad, in his first game back to Ottawa since he was traded, scored on a wraparound with 44.4 seconds left.
Lundqvist, playing his sixth straight game, will yield to Antti Raanta in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
Trailing 1-0, the Rangers' best chance came after Kevin Hayes shot missed on a two-on-one, retrieved the puck behind the net and found Michael Grabner in front, who hit the crossbar over Anderson.
Two former Rangers then combined on the second Senators goal. Viktor Stalberg dropped a pass near the left circle to Derick Brassard on a rush, and Brassard's wrister beat Lundqvist stickside at 9:24 of the second. Pageau's tip-in from in front at 6:19 of the third put the Senators up by three.
Mats Zuccarello, Rick Nash, Jesper Fast and Nick Holden sat out for the second consecutive game, and Derek Stepan was given the day off, as was defenseman Marc Staal. Ryan McDonagh, who practiced on Friday, was rested for the fourth straight game.
