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At a glance: Surrendering Game 1 to the Rangers despite carrying play for much of the match, the Devils responded in Game 2 with a 3-2 win to tie the series at a game apiece. With the game tied at 2, New Jersey's David Clarkson deflected Bryce Salvador's shot 2:31 into the third period for the go-ahead goal. The Rangers' loss marks the third time this postseason that the team squandered an opportunity to take a two-game series lead. The best-of-seven set now heads to Newark for Games 3 and 4.

Double the deflection: Trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Rangers tallied twice on the power play during the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Defenseman Marc Staal was credited with the Rangers' first goal at 2:23; his shot deflected off Devils defenseman Salvador, then caromed off the end-boards before bouncing off Martin Brodeur's pads for his third goal of the playoffs. Scoring his second goal in as many games, Rangers rookie Chris Kreider deflected Anton Stralman's shot at 12:19.

All tied up: Tying the game late in the second period, Devils fourth-liner Ryan Carter tipped in Salvador’s shot. Coach John Tortorella looked irate after Marian Gaborik's casual clearing attempt allowed the Devils to keep the puck in the zone.

Gaborik benched: As penance for the Devil's game-tying goal, Gaborik was benched to begin the third period with Artem Anisimov skating on the team's first line with Carl Hagelin and Brad Richards. Gaborik did not reappear until taking his first shift of the period 11:20 into the third.

Block that: Giving the Devils their first goal of the series, Ilya Kovalchuk sniped one from the left circle to beat Henrik Lundqvist high-glove, although it was a laser Lundqvist had no shot to snag. Kovalchuk’s power-play marker, assisted by defenseman Marek Zidlicky and captain Zach Parise, gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 13:39.

Loading up: Switching up the lines from Game 1, Devils coach Pete Deboer loaded up his top line with Parise, Kovalchuk and center Travis Zajac to start the game.

Un-hinged: In a bizarre-yet-comical twist during a tight game at Madison Square Garden, the door to the Devils penalty box jammed with Zajac waiting to serve his ill-advised offensive-zone interference penalty during the second period. Crew workers labored for almost 10 minutes -- even trying to kick the door open at one point -- before resolving the situation, which had several players chuckling on their respective benches.

Defensive substitution: Devils defenseman Peter Harrold made his first appearance of the series, replacing rookie Adam Larsson in the lineup. The 28-year-old even manned the right point on the Devils’ second power-play unit.

Up Next: Rangers at Devils, Game 3, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist delivered a 21-save shutout -- the fifth in his playoff career -- but he received some key contributions by his Rangers defensemen along the way in the team’s 3-0 win over the Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Top-pair defenseman Ryan McDonagh may have single-handedly saved the team in the first period with a relentless back-checking effort that negated two Devils’ breakaways.

McDonagh raced down Devils captain Zach Parise to snuff out what would’ve been a stellar scoring opportunity at 6:10 of the first and took an angle on Ilya Kovalchuk to hamper the sniper’s solo rush later in the period.

The two plays were vital in preserving a scoreless tie that endured until the game’s first goal 53 seconds into the third.

“You never want to be chasing anyone down, especially those two players,” said McDonagh, who finished with a plus-2 rating in 24:27 Monday night at Madison Square Garden. “You try and be smart and not take a penalty or not taking a penalty shot. Henrik did a good job of coming out on Kovalchuk there to cut down the angle, so it’s a combination of him and I.”

The Rangers were engulfed by the Devils in the second period by a tenacious forechecking effort and found themselves hemmed in their own end for much of the frame.

The pressure caused some uncharacteristic mistakes from the Rangers’ blue line, including Dan Girardi's unsightly gaffe to turn the puck over at the goal line. Girardi’s rare giveaway almost gifted New Jersey’s Dainius Zubrus with a lay-up, but he was bailed out by a save from Lundqvist.

“They had a lot of pressure on us. They weren’t given us much time to make plays and we ended up icing it a bunch,” said alternate captain Marc Staal. “Hank made some key saves for us, so we got out of it without getting hurt.”

Then came Girardi’s redemption shot in the third, when he gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a deep slapshot that beat Martin Brodeur less than a minute into play. Rookie Chris Kreider set up the pivotal marker, earning the primary assist on the play in his second multi-point performance of the playoffs.

“I saw (Kreider) coming up the wall there and I was delaying to see what he was going to do,” said Girardi, who was wearing the Rangers MVP Broadway Hat after the game. “I saw no one go to the point and I kind of stepped into it and got it through.”

With Girardi’s game-winner, the Rangers have now received nine goals from defensemen throughout the playoffs.

“To get some offense (from) some of your best defensemen offensively, it’s important,” said coach John Tortorella. “And (Girardi) has made some really big plays. Not just getting on the scoreboard, but big plays offensively right on through the playoffs here.”

Five days after a thrilling, triple-overtime Game 3 win in D.C., the Rangers pulled off yet another playoff stunner.

With 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards tallied a power-play goal to send the game into overtime and set up Marc Staal's clincher for the 3-2 win against the Caps. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Richards' marker was the third game-tying goal with less than 15 seconds in regulation in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most in NHL history.

Here's what goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had to say about the final moments of the game:

"I was almost thinking about the next game. There was only 10 seconds left. I looked up and thought this is gonna be tough. Then we score that goal and had 15 minutes to settle down and re-focus. Luckily for me, I didn't have to do anything in overtime. We took care of business on the power-play."

Read more about the Rangers' Great Escape from ESPNNewYork.com's Johnette Howard here.

New York Rangers assistant coach Mike Sullivan parted the throng of reporters surrounding Marc Staal's locker and gave him a quick fist bump for his efforts in the Rangers’ stunning 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. It was a simple gesture to acknowledge the latest accomplishment in what is becoming a pretty tremendous comeback for the 25-year-old defenseman.

After missing the first half of the season with lingering concussion symptoms dating back to February 2011, Staal is inching ever closer to a return to form as one of the league’s elite defensemen.

The alternate captain has been one of the team’s steadiest and, at times, dominant performers this postseason, and he delivered a gold-star game Monday. Capping a shocking late-game rally led by Brad Richards' game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds in regulation, Staal tallied the game-winning power-play goal 1:35 into overtime to give the Rangers a 3-2 series lead.

Staal, who earned the team’s MVP Broadway Hat, finished the game with a goal, assist and a plus-1 rating in 24:05 in ice time during the pivotal Game 5.

He also broke up a Capitals’ 3-on-1 rush in the third period to keep the Rangers within striking distance.

“I’m certainly feeling better and better,” Staal said of his progress since making his long-awaited season debut in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2. “As the year has gone on, I’ve felt better and better. Playoffs are a lot of fun and I’m having fun with it.”

Staal’s goal, which went off Brooks Laich's stick and beat a screened Braden Holtby, allowed the Rangers to re-assert control of a series that was threatening to slip away. Had the Rangers dropped the overtime decision to the Capitals, they’d have found themselves in a precarious position for the second time this postseason -- trailing 3-2 with the series headed back to an opponent’s home ice for Game 6.

The overtime marker was also the Rangers’ second power-play goal tallied in a span of 1:42, a drastic turnaround from the unit’s feeble efforts throughout much of the game.

“We kept talking about it, plays that would open it up for us. We just kept trying to come at them,” Staal said. “It wasn’t a set play or anything off the draw, just a good clean draw and guys went to the net and he couldn’t see it.”

With his second goal and third assist of the playoffs, Staal has already matched his output for his injury-shortened 46-game regular season. He is also nearing a return to the team-leading minutes he shouldered last season as part of the team’s top defensive pairing.

“He’s just getting better and better,” goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. “He gets the goal and made some big plays to break up opportunities in the third. He was all over the ice.”

His contributions were something that may have gone overlooked at times last season. But now that the team knows what it was like to be without Staal, and what he has gone through to get himself back, the appreciation is magnified.

“No one understands that injury unless you go through it,” said Richards, who battled a concussion of his own while playing in Dallas last season. “I’ve gone through one and I didn’t miss half the season and jump into it, so the benefit of the doubt goes to him all the time and he’s gotten nothing but better.”

“He’s enjoying this fresh start in the playoffs,” Richards said. “He’s playing so much better, and I’m sure he’ll continue to get better.”

Washington, D.C. – It took over 114 minutes, 49 shots, more than a dozen stitches and a hell of a lot of heart, but the Rangers did it.

Struggling sniper Marian Gaborik snapped a nagging slump in the most poignant way possible, tallying the game-winner in triple overtime to give the Rangers a 2-1 win in Wednesday’s marathon session that didn’t end until after midnight.

The stunning victory, which ended the Rangers’ seven-game overtime playoff losing streak, tilted the series 2-1 while affirming one axiom that has been true to the Black-and-Blueshirts all season long:

This team has guts.

Read more about the Rangers' gutsy, heroic effort here.

Recap | Box score | Photos

What it means: 20-year-old Chris Kreider tallied his second game-winning goal in three games and finished with his first multi-point performance of his young NHL career as he led the Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Caps in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The game started out slow, but the Rangers turned it on midway through the third period with two goals that ignited the restless crowd at Madison Square Garden and gave the team a 1-0 lead in the series. Kreider snapped a 1-1 tie at the 7-minute mark of the third and set up Brad Richards' insurance goal 90 seconds later. Rounding out a big effort from the Rangers' young guns, second-year center Derek Stepan also recorded his fifth point in three games with the primary assist on Kreider's second goal of the playoffs.

Not-so-great Number 8: Invisible in the first game of the series, Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet and taunted by the New York crowd. In a timed chant picked up from Senators fans last series, the Blueshirts faithful jeered the Russian star beginning at the eight minute mark of each series. Ovechkin has been limited to five points over the past eight games.

All tied up: Brooks Laich executed a perfectly-placed saucer pass to find Jason Chimera in front with less than four seconds remaining in the second period. Chimera buried the puck to convert on the 2-on-1 rush and tie the game heading into the second intermission.

A-OK: Artem Anisimov snapped a scoreless tie with 7:22 to play in the second, burying a wraparound attempt to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 12:38.

Scoreless first: Compared the frantic pace of Thursday’s Game 7 at the Garden, the opening frame of the second round seemed a little subdued. Both the Rangers and Capitals combined for only ten shots total in a scoreless period. Of the Rangers’ four first-period shots, none came from forwards: defenseman Ryan McDonagh had three while fellow blue-liner Marc Staal registered the other.

Boyle, Dubinsky out: The Rangers were without injured forwards Brian Boyle (concussion) and Brandon Dubinsky (leg) Saturday. Boyle, who returned to practice with the team Friday, has not played since Game 5 of the quarterfinals. Dubinsky appeared to suffer the injury in Game 7 against the Senators on Thursday. Coach John Tortorella said there was “no update” on either player.

Eminger up front: With the Rangers missing two forwards, defenseman Steve Eminger returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering an ankle injury on March 15. The 28-year-old was used as a forward, however. He skated on the right wing with center John Mitchell and Mike Rupp.

Up Next: Rangers vs. Caps, Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Recap | Box score | Photos

What it means: In a nail-biter of a Game 7 that lived up to an exciting and evenly matched first-round series, the Rangers held on to outlast the Senators and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 2-1 win at Madison Square Garden.

The Senators cut into the Rangers' 2-0 lead in the second period and threatened a late-game comeback in the third, but the Blueshirts kept a white-knuckle grip on their one-goal lead to advance to Round 2. The Rangers now move on to face the seventh-seeded Washington Capitals.

Rookie rules: In what was his best game as a Ranger so far, rookie Chris Kreider made a spectacular play to set up the game's first goal. Kreider, who signed an entry-level deal with the team just weeks ago, forced Senators forward Nick Foligno to cough the puck up along the boards, creating a rush for the Rangers. Marc Staal then buried a beautiful feed from center Derek Stepan to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 4:46 in the second.

Banner night for blue line: The Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the second period with key contributions from defensemen Staal and Dan Girardi. Kreider's hustle play in the neutral zone led to Staal's first goal. Girardi tallied from the slot midway through the period at 9:04.

Captain comes through: In his second game back from a concussion, Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson unleashed a blast from the point for a power-play goal to cut the Rangers' lead in half, 2-1 at 11:34 of the second. The man-up marker was his second goal of the playoffs.

Hostile crowd: The Madison Square Garden crowd wasted no time making the visiting team feel its wrath, serenading Senators antagonist Chris Neil with various taunts and jeers. When a bold faction of Ottawa fans tried starting the team's 11-minute-mark chant for Alfredsson, Blueshirts faithful countered back with their own less-friendly variation.

Early chances: The Rangers had a couple of their best chances of the night within the first 5:11 minutes of play but came away scoreless. Senators goaltender Craig Anderson denied Marian Gaborik on a 2-on-1 rush at 2:58. Minutes later, Girardi shot wide when facing an open net with Anderson tangled up with Brandon Prust behind the net.

Up Next: Rangers vs. Capitals, 3 p.m. Saturday at the Garden.

Already missing veteran captain Daniel Alfredsson, the Senators witnessed an unwelcome sight in the second period of Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win -- another one of their top three forwards down on the ice in the aftermath of a big hit.

Leading the way with Alfredsson out, top-line center Jason Spezza left the game during the second period after getting leveled by Rangers defenseman Marc Staal while carrying the puck into the Senators zone with his head down.

Although the hit left Spezza reeling at first, he returned to the game to start the third period. Staal, who was not penalized for the hit, didn't think the play warranted any outcry.

"My read was that he had the puck pulled to the outside. I kind of bit on it and he pulls right back into me and his head went into my chest," Staal said. "I haven't see it or anything but I don't think it was anything too vicious."

Although the NHL's Department of Player Safety's actions have been difficult to predict of late -- the league's disciplinary arm has come under fire after a number of questionable rulings -- Staal is not expected to face any supplementary discipline.

Good thing for the Rangers, too. The team is already without rookie winger Carl Hagelin, who served the second of a three-game suspension assessed for his elbow on Alfredsson in Game 1.

Recap | Box score | Photos

At a glance: Falling in overtime for the second time in three games, the Rangers let a 2-0 lead disappear as the Senators rallied to win Game 4 in overtime 3-2 and even the series before heading back to New York. Ottawa's Kyle Turris scored the game-winner at 2:42 to bury the Rangers for their seventh straight overtime loss in the playoffs. The Blueshirts dominated the Eastern Conference for most of the season, but haven't been able to shake the pesky Sens in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Eighth-seeded Ottawa returns to Broadway on Monday looking for an upset in what has been a tightly matched series.

Senators control second: Trailing 2-0 after the first period, the Senators dominated the second and tied the game heading into the third. Bruising defenseman Matt Carkner emerged from the penalty box to feed Milan Michalek for his first playoff goal of 2012 at 7:04. Sergei Gonchar followed up with a shot from the blue line that trickled past Henrik Lundqvist for a game-tying power-play goal with 2:10 remaining.

False alarm: Already missing captain Daniel Alfredsson, the Senators witnessed a scary sight when first-line center Jason Spezza was forced from the game after getting rocked by Rangers defenseman Marc Staal late in the second. Spezza returned in the third, but forward Jesse Winchester did not. He left the game with an upper-body injury.

Alfredsson out: The Senators were without captain Daniel Alfredsson for the second straight game. Alfredsson has not played since suffering a concussion in Game 1 from Carl Hagelin’s high hit. Hagelin served the second of a three-game suspension earned for his elbowing major; he is eligible to return for Game 6, if necessary.

First take: With Anton Stralman’s power-play marker 49 seconds into the game, the Rangers have now scored the first goal in all four games of this series.

Power-play prowess: The Rangers tallied two power-play goals in the first 6:10 of the first. Following Stralman’s second man-up goal of the postseason, Ryan Callahan buried a rebound at the left post for a 2-0 lead with 13:50 to play. The Rangers have recorded three power-play goals in the series.

Up Next: Rangers vs. Senators, Saturday at 7 p.m.

With a loss in the regular-season finale, the Rangers fell short of the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy since the 1993-94 Stanley Cup-winning season, but the team finished on top of the East to clinch both the Conference and the Atlantic Division titles with an impressive 51-24-7 record. The Broadway Blueshirts face the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, but before they do, here are our regular-season grades.

At a glance: Standings are at stake in the sixth and final meeting of these two nasty division rivals Tuesday. The Rangers have yet another opportunity to clinch the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division title, while the Flyers try to fight off the series sweep and gain the advantage over Penguins for home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

Favorable odds: The Rangers have dominated the Flyers all season, taking all five of the teams’ meetings including the 2012 Winter Classic. New York has outscored Philly 19-8 during that span and has established success even with it’s woefully inconsistent power-play. Although the unit enters Tuesday’s match ranked 27th in the league, the power-play has gone 5-for-19 (26.3%) against Philly this season.

Make it ten: With the Rangers still seeking the top seed, the team returns to starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes. Lundqvist will make his season-high tenth straight start Tuesday against the Flyers.

Missing in action: The Flyers will be missing one of their top forwards in the absence of center Danny Briere, who, according to the team, is “out indefinitely” with an upper-body contusion. Briere suffered the injury in a fiery 6-4 battle against the Penguins Saturday when he was crushed by an open-ice hit from Pittsburgh’s Joe Vitale late in the third. The hit ignited a nasty skirmish that culminated with Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette and Pittsburgh assistant Tony Granato being tossed. Defenseman Nicklas Grossman also was injured after a collision with Vitale Sunday; he is expected to miss 7 to 10 days with a lower-body injury.

That’ll cost you: Speaking of Sunday’s fracas, both coaches were fined by the league for their actions; Laviolette was docked $10,000, Granato $2,500. Both pale in comparison to Rangers coach John Tortorella’s hefty fine of $30,000, assessed after he criticized the officiating in this year’s Winter Classic.

Rough stuff: Tempers are unlikely to abate Tuesday, either. Both the Rangers and the Flyers rank among the top three team in the league for fighting majors. New York is 1st in the NHL with 63, Philadelphia is 3rd with 54. The last two games between the two teams – both 5-2 wins for the Rangers-- featured 12 fighting majors combined.

What it means: The Rangers failed to clinch an Eastern Conference title as the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins denied New York of a series sweep with a 2-1 win at Madison Square Garden. The Bruins notched a pair of goals in the second period to top the Rangers in the fourth and final meeting of the two teams this season and secure the Northeast Division title, while giving fans on Broadway a preview of what could be an enticing Eastern Conference finals match-up down the road.

Gaborik hits 40: Beating Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas early in the first, Marian Gaborik tallied his 40th goal of the season to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 4:33. Jordan Caron incidentally blocked teammate Zdeno Chara’s thundering slapshot, and the puck squirted out to Gaborik for the breakaway. The 30-year-old sniper reached the 40-goal plateau for the second time with the Rangers, third time of his career. He is two goals shy of his career-high 42 goals, achieved twice -- in 2009-10 with New York and two seasons prior with the Minnesota Wild.

All tied up: Chara had a hand in the Bruins’ first goal as well, setting up fellow defenseman Dennis Seidenberg with a slapshot from the blue-line to tie the game four minutes into the second period.

Oops: A rare Dan Girardi turnover allowed the Bruins to take a 2-1 lead in the second period, as Seguin pounced on the giveaway and found Patrice Bergeron to tuck it away for a power-play goal at 11:52 of the second.

Setting the stage: The Rangers scoff at any mention of the standings and claim to be oblivious to any game but their own, but there was a Sunday matinee that may have garnered some interest. The Pittsburgh Penguins fell 6-4 to the Philadelphia Flyers in a nasty divisional game that whittled the Rangers’ magic number to one. With the two point sacrificed by the Pens, New York entered Sunday’s match needing only one point to clinch the Eastern Conference title. The game was a good preview of what will likely be the 4-5 match-up in the East; the game ended with a melee that extended to both team’s coaching staffs as well. Philadelphia’s Peter Laviolette and Pittsburgh assistant Tony Granato were ejected from the game after screaming at each other from the bench.

Up Next: Rangers at Flyers, Tuesday at 7 p.m.

At a glance: The Rangers look to make it four straight Friday when they return to Madison Square Garden to host the beleaguered Montreal Canadiens. With a five-point lead in the standings, the Rangers need only five more to clinch an Eastern Conference title. And while the Pittsburgh Penguins was threatening to challenge the Rangers for the No. 1 seed, they dropped two straight to the lowly Islanders in a home-and-home set this week.

Eight straight for Hank: Henrik Lundqvist will make his season-high eighth straight start tonight against Montreal. The 30-year-old netminder has recorded three straight wins and, with tough opponents like Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on the upcoming schedule, may be locked in between the pipes for the rest of the regular season. That’s no worry for him. “This is what I’m used to, playing a lot, and a I feel good” he said after Friday’s morning skate.

Outta here: The Habs dismissed general manager Pierre Gauthier Thursday with a little over a week left in a disastrous season that caused the Canadiens to clean house across the board. Former Hab Serge Savard will advise team owner Geoff Molson in the search for a new steward; leading candidates appear to be Patrick Roy, Julien Brisebois and a handful of others.

Stralman sticks: In the midst of evaluating personnel with whom he feels comfortable in rolling out each night, Rangers coach John Tortorella swapped defenseman Anton Stralman in for rookie Tim Erixon the past two games and Stralman appears to be sticking on with the team’s defensive corps. Erixon was sent back to the American Hockey League Thursday after his recent five-game stint with the big club. Stralman was paired with Marc Staal Friday morning, but Tortorella said he’s still not certain of which tandems he’ll use down the road.

Records in reach: With 49 wins this season, the Rangers are only three shy of a franchise best (52), set in the team’s 1993-94 Stanley-Cup winning season. With 105 points, the team is seven shy of the highest point total ever, set by the same ‘93-94 squad that finished the regular season with 112.

Moving on up: Gritty center Brian Boyle skated on the second line with core forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan Friday morning. Second-year pivot Derek Stepan was between Artem Anisimov and Ruslan Fedotenko while John Mitchell centered a line with veteran Mike Rupp and tough guy Brandon Prust.

What it means: The opening-faceoff line brawl was well-orchestrated, but the hatred between the Rangers and Devils was altogether genuine in a nasty series finale that ended with a playoff-clinching 4-2 win for the Blueshirts at Madison Square Garden. A whopping 40 penalty minutes were dished out between both clubs as fists flew three seconds into the game, and although the Devils pulled within a goal twice in the second period, the Rangers held on to become the first team in the East to secure a berth in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs and snap a two-game losing streak.

Rough Stuff: Tempers flared as a total of six players dropped the gloves on the opening face-off. Taking the draw at center ice, defenseman-turned-center Stu Bickel paired up with Ryan Carter, while heavyweights Mike Rupp and Eric Boulton fought, as did Cam Janssen and Brandon Prust. Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador also received a 10-minute misconduct for stepping in to Carter’s aid when the fourth-line forward was left bloodied in his fight with Bickel. Carter left the ice to receive stitches but returned later in the first period.

No love lost: The players weren’t the only ones immersed in the opening-faceoff hostilities. Video replays showed Rangers coach John Tortorella screaming and cursing at the Devils' bench, presumably at opposing coach Pete DeBoer. As the visiting coach, DeBoer sets his starting lineup first and elected to give his fourth line the nod. Tortorella appeared to receive the message, using Bickel to take the opening faceoff instead of natural pivot Brandon Dubinsky, who suffered injuries in a fight with Carter in the two teams' previous meeting. Tortorella did decide to sit tough guy John Scott, however. The hulking 6-8, 260-pound enforcer was scratched after taking pregame warmups.

Not so stingy: And while the marquee matchup between Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur is normally the main event when the two teams meet, Monday's contest was no goal-tending duel as both players looked a little ragged.

Hot hand: With his second goal in as many games, recently-recalled Mats Zuccarello buried a rebound on the power-play to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead at 7:33 of the second. The diminutive Norwegian forward gave New York its first man-up goal in four games.

Just like old times: Linemates from the Devils Stanley Cup championship-winning team in 2000, Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora combined for two goals in the second period. Set up by Sykora, Elias beat Lundqvist short-side to cut a two-goal Rangers lead in half at 5:03; Sykora then buried a sharp-angle shot to whittle the lead again to one goal at 11:08. With his second-period marker, Elias recorded the seventh 25-goal season in his 15-year career; it was the first time the 35-year-old Czech reached the milestone since '08-'09.

Dubinsky breaks through: With the crowd buzzing after the opening theatrics, Dubinsky scored his first goal in seven games, beating Brodeur from the slot to convert on a rush, to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead 1:11 into play.

Up next: Rangers vs. Red Wings, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Devils vs. Senators, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

At a glance: Losers in five of their last six games, the Devils host the league-leading Rangers in the teams' second meeting in eight days. Trailing the Rangers by 14 points in the standings, New Jersey aims to cut the lead following last Monday's 2-0 shutout loss at Madison Square Garden.

Marquee Matchup: Tuesday will be the 34th regular season game in which elite goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist compete head-to-head. Lundqvist holds the edge against Brodeur, posting a 22-6-5 record during that span, with a 1.72 goals against average, .936 save percentage and five shutouts.

On the mend: The Rangers will return their captain Ryan Callahan, who missed the past three games with a bruised right foot. Callahan's Devils' counterpart, Zach Parise, will also play Tuesday, despite a sore left hand. Devils defenseman Andy Greene, who was a late scratch for Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Islanders after suffering back spasms, is a game-time decision while forward Alexei Ponikarovsky (right knee) will sit out his second straight game.

Warning call: Devils winger David Clarkson received a warning call following his hit against Brandon Dubinsky last Monday. Clarkson left his feet to make contact and received a charging penalty on the play. Clarkson and Dubinsky also received five minutes for fighting after the play. Dainius Zubrus also received a similar call for his elbow on Rangers rookie Carl Hagelin.

Lineup change: Steve Eminger will replace defenseman Anton Stralman in the lineup, playing for the first time since February 21. Struggling since returning from a shoulder injury earlier this season, Eminger has sat six straight. Assuming Callahan plays, John Scott will join Stralman and defenseman Jeff Woywitka as the Rangers’ healthy scratches.

Blanked: The Devils were shut out twice in the span of one week against Atlantic Division foes following the Feb. 27 trade deadline. After being blanked by the Rangers 2-0 just hours after the deadline passed, the Devils were held without a goal by rookie netminder Anders Nilsson Sunday on Long Island.

Late addition: The Devils recalled C Brad Mills from Albany (AHL) just hours before the game. This will be the third stint for Mills, who has one assist and 32 penalty minutes in 27 games for the Devils this season. Fourth-line forward Cam Janssen is the likely scratch.