Ryan Callahan had two goals and two assists, Brandon Dubinsky added two goals and an assist and the New York Rangers broke out of a scoring drought to beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 on Sunday night.
Marian Gaborik had a goal and two assists, and Chris Drury also scored to help the Rangers — who had only five goals overall in their previous five games — end a three-game losing streak. They outshot Montreal 34-20, including 15-2 in the second period.
Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta scored for the Canadiens.
Both teams were coming off losses Saturday night and in need of points in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. The Rangers moved into sixth place with 53 points. The Canadiens, who have scored two goals or less in six of their last seven games (2-4-1) have 50 points.
The Rangers had scored just one goal in their previous three games, but they erupted for three consecutive goals in the second period to wipe away Montreal's 2-0 advantage.
Fifty-seven seconds into the period and eight seconds after the Canadiens killed off a penalty, the Rangers scored. Gaborik collected a loose puck behind the goal-line and sent it toward the net. The puck was in the crease and Callahan poked it over the line before goalie Jaroslav Halak swiped it back out.
The Rangers then added a short-handed goal on a 4-on-3 skating situation. Callahan picked up a loose puck off a draw in the Rangers' zone, pushed the puck ahead to himself and broke in on Halak. When Halak couldn't control Callahan's point-blank shot, Dubinsky tapped it out of the air and into the net at the 8:28 mark.
Just 2:36 later, Dubinsky scored again. Vinny Prospal carried the puck around defenceman Jaroslav Spacek and centred perfectly to the right doorstep, and Dubinsky buried it for his 10th goal of the season and the 3-2 lead.
Callahan scored his second and 12th of the season 26 seconds into a power play early in the third period, but it wasn't credited as a goal until a play stoppage with two seconds left in the man advantage.
A video review showed the puck had made just it past the goal-line. Dubinsky later set up Gaborik on a 2-on-1 break for his 29th goal of the season, breaking a five-game scoreless streak. Then Callahan set up Drury for a goal with 4:11 left to cap the scoring.
Cammalleri gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 3:30 into the game after he took a perfect lead pass from Tomas Plekanec from near the top of the right circle and put the puck past Henrik Lundqvist (18 saves).
The Canadiens scored again on a power play with 5:10 left in the period. Gionta batted in a rebound of a Marc-Andre Bergeron drive from the point. The goal was upheld after a video review to check whether Gionta had scored with a high stick.
