Rick Nash celebrates another goal with happy teammates who have plenty to smile about during the Christmas break.
AP Photo by Frank Franklin II/Getty Images

It’ll be a good Christmas for Rick Nash. After going two games without a point, he added to his torrid start scoring numbers 21 and 22 in the Rangers’ latest win- 4-2 over the Caps at MSG. The victory was their season best seventh straight moving them into third in the Metro with 40 points. They now get to celebrate Christmas in a jovial mood.

For two periods, they were in control outscoring the Caps 2-0 while limiting them to 11 shots. Able to take advantage of their speed against a division rival playing their second game of a back-to-back, the Rangers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead thanks to great transition from Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello and Nash. Following a John Carlson wide shot, Brassard pushed the puck up to Nash who centered for Zuccarello. The puck banked in off a Washington defenseman for his first of the night.

The Caps were physical. Alex Ovechkin finished every check including a heavy one at the outset on Ryan McDonagh. He had five of his eight hits in the first with one on Zuccarello drawing a strong response. It was that kind of game. When you have two teams battling for important points, the intensity was up. A sharp contrast from the dead quiet of the weekend sweep over the Canes. On one play, Kevin Klein stood up at the blueline catching Ovechkin for an offside. McDonagh also got some payback with a strong defensive play to stop Ovechkin.

The style was perfect for Tanner Glass. For all the gripes about his skating and lack of talent, the one thing he brings is a lunch pail work ethic. His line started the game with a strong shift. Glass delivered four hits and even had a shot. He is fitting in with Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast on the fourth line. Moore was a dominant 8-and-1 in the faceoff circle.

Leading by one early in the second, the Blueshirts took advantage of an undisciplined Ovechkin boarding minor. Brassard started a perfect passing play with Dan Boyle setting up Martin St. Louis from his favorite spot on a sharp angle. This time, he didn’t get crossbar burying it for his first in eight games. It was nice to see and might set him off on another streak. Considering the other goal he was credited with in crunch time, it was a nice Christmas present.

For two periods, the Rangers did exactly what they wanted. They were ahead by two and played textbook defense to keep a dangerous opponent in check. Then came the third. From the beginning, it was an onslaught with the Caps getting seven shots in the first minute and a half on Henrik Lundqvist. He was equal to the task denying them. For the period, he was peppered with 21 and made 19 big saves with every single one significant. Especially when things got a little too close for comfort.

Before Washington made it a game, Nash was up to his old tricks taking a Zuccarello feed and beating Braden Holtby with a wrist shot that increased the lead to 3-0 with 14:48 left. To that point, the Rangers hadn’t gotten any other scoring chances. Not surprisingly, they went into a shell allowing the Caps to mount a furious attack. It was a leak by Lundqvist that allowed Evgeny Kuznetsov to tally 41 seconds later from Troy Brouwer and Carlson.

A Matt Hunwick hooking minor put the game in jeopardy when Ovechkin did what Ovechkin does going end to end and scoring a power play goal from Carlson and Marcus Johansson. Suddenly, it was a one-goal contest with still 9:02 remaining. The Caps kept pressing but Brouwer and Joel Ward were stoned by Lundqvist, who also stifled Ovechkin.

At that point, the Caps were outshooting us 14-2. Then they lost their discipline taking two consecutive penalties. First, leading scorer Nicklas Backstrom high-sticked Brassard drawing blood for a double minor. Then Jason Chimera committed a silly face-off violation closing his hand on the puck to hand the Rangers a two-man advantage. Even they couldn’t screw that up. After plenty of passing and possession, Derek Stepan fed Rick Nash for a wicked shot that clanged off the post and off Holtby’s glove towards St. Louis, who either touched it or Holtby accidentally put it in. Either way, it was a huge insurance marker that put the game away with 3:48 to go.

Empty net specialist Carl Hagelin hit the post and committed a tripping minor giving the Caps a late power play with 30 seconds left. It was just bookkeeping. The bottom line is they got an important win against an opponent they’ll be competing with. Oddly, they don’t see each other again until March 11 at Washington. The other two matches are 3/29 at MSG and 4/11 in DC.

Notes: By getting 4 past Holtby on 27 shots, Rangers handed him his first regulation loss in last 10. He entered 7-0-2. … With 30 saves, Lundqvist won his sixth in a row. … Power Play: Caps 1-for-5 Rangers 2-for-6 … With 2 assists, Brassard increased his team lead to 18. He’s 8-18-26 in 30 games. … With a helper, Stepan increased his point streak to 4 (1-4-5). In 19 games, he’s 3-15-18. … With 3 points, Nash has 11 (6-5-11) for December. In 32 games, he’s up to 22-14-36. The number 2 finisher is in the top 10 in scoring. … Rangers get three days off before hosting the Devils Saturday 12/27.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Mats Zuccarello, NYR (2 assists, 2-6-8 during 7-game win streak, 4 takeaways in 14:46)

2nd Star-Martin St. Louis, NYR (2 PPG’s for #’s 11, 12, 6 SOG in 18:43)

1st Star-Rick Nash, NYR (2 more goals-#’s 21, 22 ranks 2nd behind Seguin, 2-1-3, +2 in 18:18)