3-goal surge lifts Senators past Rangers

Dany Heatley and the surging Ottawa Senators took care of the New York Rangers in record-setting time.

Heatley scored the first of Ottawa's three goals in a team-record 52 seconds of the middle period Saturday night, and Martin Gerber made 36 saves to lift the Senators to a 3-1 victory over the Rangers.

Chris Phillips and Patrick Eaves followed Heatley by scoring in an overpowering minute for the Senators, who won for the sixth time in seven games this season — including two victories over the Rangers in a week.

Gerber wasn't tested much until the midpoint of the third period when the Rangers pressed during a 5-on-3 advantage. Gerber denied Brendan Shanahan at the left post, off a feed from Scott Gomez, and then stopped Gomez from point-blank range at the right post.

He even threw the puck to center ice to escape trouble during the power play. Gerber's bid for his eighth NHL shutout was spoiled with 1:09 left on Jaromir Jagr's first of the season and 100th with the Rangers (2-3).

Gerber is 6-1 against the Rangers, allowing only 11 goals in the process. Counting his 35-save, 2-0 victory last Saturday in Ottawa, Gerber has stopped all but one of the 72 New York shots he faced this season.

Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves for the Rangers, who have dropped three of four.

The game turned quickly just over a minute into Chris Drury's delay-of-game penalty, the second called against New York in the second period.

Heatley wrapped the puck around the boards behind the net to the right-side wall. Andrej Meszaros chipped a pass out to Jason Spezza, who swiftly moved it to Heatley for his sixth goal of the season at 8:23.

The goal announcement hadn't been made by the time Phillips made it 2-0 only 17 seconds later, ripping in a shot from the top of the left circle.

The agitated crowd was still voicing its displeasure when Rangers defenseman Marek Malik, a favorite target of Madison Square Garden boobirds, gave the fans plenty to crow about.

Malik fumbled the puck at the left point in the Ottawa zone and lost it to Eaves, who streaked the other way. Racing with Antoine Vermette on a 2-on-1 break, Eaves loaded up and beat Lundqvist with a hard drive to complete the scoring barrage at 9:15.

Lundqvist had kept the Rangers in the game until then, but the speedy Senators finally broke through and took over. The defending Eastern Conference champions have won five straight from New York, 11 of 13, and 15 of 18, dating to the 2002-03 season.

Unlike the first period Friday against Washington, the Rangers couldn't grab control. New York was outshot 15-7 and was kept in a scoreless tie by Lundqvist, in goal for the third game in four nights.

New York broke out of its power-play drought with three man-advantage goals in the opening period of Friday's 3-1 victory, yet didn't get any power-play chances in the first 20 minutes and went 0-for-6. The Rangers are 3-for-29 this season.

Notes:@ Jagr played his 200th game with the Rangers. ... The Senators scored three goals in 1:16 against the New York Islanders on March 15. ... Ottawa was 1-for-5 on the power play.