Rick Nash recorded his first hat trick in a Rangers uniform, and New York held off a late comeback attempt from the Washington Capitals to record a 4-2 win, its season-high seventh in a row.
Nash's third goal of the night came on a 5-on-3 power play with 3:48 remaining, turning the tide after Washington nearly overcame a 3-0 deficit on third-period goals by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin.
Martin St. Louis also scored on the power play and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves for the red-hot Rangers, with 19 of those stops coming in the final period. Derick Brassard added three assists in the triumph.
"The team is playing good, we are winning games, and it's a great feeling in here," St. Louis said. "We did a good job of going out there and earning it every day. We've taken nothing for granted. We take care of the opponents and we play seriously and we've been rewarded with some good plays."
Braden Holtby turned aside 23 shots in the loss, the Capitals' first in regulation since Dec. 2. Washington entered the Metropolitan Division matchup 7-0-2 in its last nine games.
The Rangers owned a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead after Nash secured a loose puck in the neutral zone and beat a screened Holtby stick-side in transition 5:12 into the third period.
However, a Washington offense that had been mostly lifeless up until then suddenly came to life.
Just 41 seconds after Nash's tally, Kuznetsov raced up the right side and fired a shot that handcuffed Lundqvist and trickled through. The Capitals received a power play less than four minutes later, and Ovechkin converted the chance with a well-placed rocket from the left circle and hit the right post and went in with 9:02 to play.
A high-sticking penalty to Nicklas Backstrom with 5:25 left stalled Washington's momentum, however, and Jason Chimera was sent off for a violation on the resulting faceoff to give New York a two-man advantage.
Nash rifled a shot on the 5-on-3 that bounced off both the post and Holtby's glove before crossing the line for a 4-2 lead, which completed the star forward's sixth career hat trick.
"I really liked our effort, I liked our determination," said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. "We took some penalties at the end, but when the game was on the line I thought Lundqvist was really good for them."
The Rangers struck first just 3:32 into a first period in which Washington managed just five shots. Brassard led a rush into the Capitals zone before sending a pass to Mats Zuccarello, whose off-balance shot caromed off Nash's left ankle and trickled past Holtby.
"It's about winning, and he's helping us in a big way to win games," said Lundqvist of Nash.
A boarding penalty to Ovechkin early in the second enabled New York to extend the lead just 36 seconds into the advantage, on St. Louis' tough- angle one-timer into an open right side of the Washington net.
[SportsNetwork.com]
