Playing for the final time before the All-Star break, the Rangers got a much needed win over the Senators on Saturday night. After spotting Ottawa a 2-0 lead, they scored seven unanswered goals to come out with a 7-2 victory.

It was just their second win over the last six games (2-3-1). A tough stretch that included a bad loss in overtime to the Sharks on Jan. 23. Following a dismal showing on Friday against the Golden Knights, the Rangers again looked like they were headed for a rough night.

K’Andre Miller’s struggles continued in the first period against the Senators. It was his giveaway that led directly to Brady Tkachuk opening the scoring at 11:43. He threw away the puck to Claude Giroux, who picked up his 700th career assist on Tkachuk’s tally.

Despite leading in shots 12-7 for the first period, the Rangers weren’t all that sharp. They fumbled away a late power play by overpassing the puck. It was again the first unit that wouldn’t take any shots. In particular, Adam Fox. After having his pass intercepted by Mathieu Joseph, Fox got beat by the Senators forward down the ice. Fortunately, it didn’t become a shorthanded goal.

Trailing by one, the Rangers started the second period on the wrong foot. A Mika Zibanejad high-sticking minor resulted in Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson combining to set up a wide open Jakob Chychrun for an easy power-play goal that put the Senators ahead 2-0. It was again Miller who was partly responsible for a goal against. He was out of position with Chychrun all alone in front to beat Jonathan Quick.

With nothing going right, Rangers defenseman Connor Mackey delivered a clean hit on Tim Stutzle. That drew the ire of Tkachuk, who immediately responded by challenging Mackey to a fight. The emergency recall from Hartford – who played for the suspended Jacob Trouba – held his own against one of the game’s toughest power forwards.

It was the Rangers who responded well to Mackey’s scrap. They got some much needed energy on the bench. It showed on the ice. In less than a six-minute span, they scored four straight goals to turn the game around.

Alexis Lafreniere got it started by getting to an Artemi Panarin rebound and banking a puck off Joonas Korpisalo to make it 2-1. It was only his second goal over the last 16 games. Lafreniere’s 12th of the season came at the right time.

Less than three minutes later, Chris Kreider surprised Korpisalo with a long wrist shot that the Ottawa goalie whiffed on. That tied the score. Following a Zibanejad faceoff win, Kreider skated into the Senators’ zone and beat Korpisalo for his 23rd goal of the season.

On the next shift, Zac Jones got involved. Playing for Ryan Lindgren, he made a good cut to the Ottawa net to finish off a nice Panarin pass in front for his first of the season. That gave the Rangers the lead.

Over two minutes later, Jones wasn’t done. Taking a pass from Will Cuylle, he had his shot deflected in front by Jonny Brodzinski to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead. It was his first goal since Dec. 10. Coincidentally, that was a two-point game in a win over the Kings. Brodzinski also picked up an assist in the third period last night for his second two-point game of the season.

The goal chased Korpisalo. He allowed four goals on 17 shots. It’s hard to believe the Senators gave him a five-year contract for $20 million. He was responsible for helping the Rangers get back in it. The goal to Lafreniere was bad. He was caught off his goalpost. The Kreider goal was brutal. Aside from that, the Senators are a bad team that can’t defend. Not even relic Jacques Martin can fix that.

There was no defense by Ottawa on an easy Blake Wheeler goal that made it five second period goals for the Blueshirts. On a play in transition started by Kreider, he moved the puck up for Zibanejad, who easily found Wheeler on the doorstep for his second goal in two games.

The Rangers added a pair of goals late in the third period to put the exclamation mark on the victory. Panarin scored an empty netter, and Kaapo Kakko got his second in two games. Hopefully, he can build on that when play resumes on Feb. 5 against the Avalanche.

As lopsided as the game became, it would be easy to omit the play of Quick. When his team fell behind, Quick was stellar. He made a few timely saves to give them a chance to get back in it. Without the consistent play from the 38-year-old goalie, the Rangers wouldn’t be where they are in the standings. He’s won 10 games while posting a 2.43 goals-against-average (GAA) and .915 save percentage.

It’s Quick, who’s been the better netminder up to this point. You could make the argument that he should get more starts than “All-Star” Igor Shesterkin. It’s a credit to him for how well he’s played. Goaltender coach Benoit Allaire definitely has helped Quick. That’s why he’s considered the best in the business.

The Rangers enter the break, still leading the Metropolitan Division by two points over the Hurricanes. They have 63 points in 49 games. The Hurricanes have 61 in 48. With the Flyers falling off, it looks like it could be a two horse race for the division.

As good as Saturday’s win was, it doesn’t mean that much unless the Rangers rediscover the form they had over the first two months. They haven’t been hard to play against over the last seven and a half weeks. Handling the Senators is one thing. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers fare against the league’s better teams. They’ll get tested by the Avalanche and Hart frontrunner Nathan MacKinnon a week from tomorrow.

There’s still plenty of work ahead. Rangers team president and general manager Chris Drury will have over a month to decide if he should go all-in this season. With Filip Chytil unlikely to return following his latest setback, the Rangers have two pressing needs. A third line center and a first line right wing. How they play in February will determine if Drury decides to buy at the March 8 trade deadline.

There are 11 games next month. The toughest games are against the Avalanche and Lightning following the break. The Rangers will also visit the Islanders on Feb. 18. Then, they’ll host the Stars on Feb. 20. They’ll play the Devils on Feb. 22. After visiting the Flyers, they’ll conclude February with a home and home series against the Blue Jackets.