NEW YORK - Erik Christensen scored two of New York's three first-period goals, and the Rangers gave their tenuous playoff hopes a big boost with a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
One night after a 5-2 loss at Buffalo put their post-season chances in jeopardy, the Rangers stormed out and seemed to take away the will of the Maple Leafs -- the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.
Christensen gave New York the lead 21 seconds in, then combined with Vinny Prospal for goals 30 seconds apart that quickly put away the game. Although the Rangers wouldn't have been eliminated with a loss to Toronto, their realistic prospects for the playoffs would have been all but dashed.
But wins in their final two games would get them into the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
Henrik Lundqvist bounced back from being pulled from the loss Tuesday night, when he allowed three goals on 16 shots in less than two periods, and stopped 26 shots. Maple Leafs defenceman Dion Phaneuf spoiled Lundqvist's bid for his 25th NHL shutout when he scored with 11:51 left.
Olli Jokinen bounced a shot in with 9:09 remaining, and Aaron Voros added a goal 1:44 later for the Rangers to make it 5-1. New York is 6-1-1 in its last eight.
The Rangers, ninth in the East, trail the Boston Bruins by one point, the No. 7 Philadelphia Flyers by two points, and the No. 6 Montreal Canadiens by three. Those teams have two games remaining, except for Boston, which will play three.
The Rangers and Flyers will conclude their seasons with a home-and-home series this weekend -- beginning Friday night at New York.
Toronto, which lost 2-0 to Philadelphia on Tuesday in its final home game, didn't appear to have any jump or interest during the one-sided first period.
Christensen got the Rangers rolling. Brandon Dubinsky fed a pass from behind the Toronto net out front to Christensen, who jammed the puck between the pads of Jonas Gustavsson.
New York kept the pressure on Gustavsson, who was why the Maple Leafs weren't blown out early. The Rangers built a 12-1 shots advantage and grabbed a 2-0 lead at 10:26 when Prospal followed up Jokinen's breakaway chance with a rebound goal.
Gustavsson stopped Jokinen, and the puck trickled near the left post toward Maple Leafs defenceman Francois Beauchemin, who made little effort to clear it. Prospal streaked down the middle and got to it -- easily avoiding Beauchemin's halfhearted stick swipe -- and knocked in his 20th goal.
Gustavsson slammed his stick on the net in anger, skated to the blue-line while the Rangers celebrated, and then stomped his skates on his return to the crease.
It would soon get worse. Just seconds after Prospal's goal, Christensen scored his eighth of the season on the following shot -- giving the Rangers a 15-5 edge there -- at 10:56.
NOTES: Phaneuf scored his first goal since in 24 games since being traded by Calgary to the Maple Leafs. ... Toronto, which owns the NHL's worst power play, went 0 for 4 with the advantage. The Maple Leafs have scored on just two of their last 52 chances over 13 games. ... Voros has three goals in 39 games. ... Gustavsson finished with 27 saves.
