Dan Girardi broke a tie late in the second period as the Rangers beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 in New York on Sunday.
Recently demoted to the third defense pairing with Keith Yandle, Girardi sneaked down to the right circle and snapped a rebound of Emerson Etem’s shot past Jonas Hiller to put the Rangers ahead 2-1 with 3:03 left in the second.
“It just popped right to my stick,” Girardi said. “I just got it away as fast as I could. Luckily, it went in.”
Backup goalie Antti Raanta made 22 saves — one on Mikael Backlund’s shorthanded breakaway — for the Rangers, who have won six of their past seven against the Flames.