NHL

Rangers’ good tidings continue in win over Ottawa

OTTAWA — When the puck hit the far post then barreled into the back of the net in the waning moments of the second period, the ring echoing through the Canadian Tire Center was a reminder Derek Stepan is the Rangers’ first-line center, and when he gets his game going, that is not a de facto title, but an apt one.

Stepan put together a terrific performance Saturday afternoon, notching a goal and two assists in a 4-1 triumph over the Senators, breaking his personal 13-game goal-less drought in highlight fashion.

“To have balance in your lineup, to have different guys step up in different games to create offense, it’s huge,” said defenseman Marc Staal, who traced Stepan’s big game back to a Reese’s Pieces Blizzard from Dairy Queen the night before. “When we get those guys step up when someone is not having a great night, it makes winning games a whole lot easier.”

It also seems all the Blueshirts (26-21-3) do in front of backup goalie Cam Talbot is win. In his first start since Jan. 4, sitting behind Henrik Lundqvist the previous six games, the 26-year-old first-year player recorded his 10th victory of the season, finishing with 29 saves, 16 of them in the third period.

“We sort of expect that from Cam,” said coach Alain Vigneault, who will go back to Lundqvist for Sunday’s Garden match against the Capitals, the first of a eight-game stretch when the Rangers will play either at home or outside at Yankee Stadium. “Every time we’ve called on him he’s always given us a chance to win, and that’s what he did again.”

What really took the Rangers to 10-3-1 in the past 14 — and took them into at least partial possession of second in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of the Flyers before their Saturday night game against the Islanders — was an all-around performance, one punctuated by Stepan. His most recent goal had come on Dec. 20, and in the interim, he had managed just four assists. After being named to the U.S. Olympic Team on New Year’s Day, the pressure on Stepan to get some results was mounting, and he certainly felt it.

“You obviously want to score goals,” said Stepan, now with eight goals and 22 assists in 50 games. “I’ve had some good looks, but wasn’t able to find the back of the net. Tonight, I was fortunate enough to find it.”

His good play started midway through the first period, when on a 5-on-3 man-advantage, he made a slick cross-crease pass to Brad Richards, who tied the game 1-1 following Marc Methot’s early goal for the Senators. It was followed just over 12 minutes into the second, when Stepan banked the puck high off the sideboards to spring Rick Nash for a breakaway, which he buried over Craig Anderson’s right shoulder for a 2-1 lead.

Then with just 11.5 seconds remaining in the second, Ottawa All-Star defenseman Erik Karlsson inexplicably turned the puck over behind his own net, putting it right on Stepan’s stick for a quick shot that snuck inside the pipe for a decisive 3-1 lead.

“I was ready to jump on anything,” Stepan said. “I’m not sure how it got to me, but I’ll take it, I guess.”

When the Senators (21-19-9) pushed back — including when Cory Conacher ran over Talbot behind his net late in the second period, to no whistle from the ref — the Rangers responded. Talbot made all the requisite saves and Mats Zuccarello re-tied Richards for the team lead in goals, getting his 13th on a breakaway with 3:10 left.

“We’re not letting anything the other team does dictate how we play,” Talbot said. “I think that’s the biggest part of our game right now, our resiliency and our resolve.”