Rangers Hand Panthers Loss, NHL News

Not only did the New York Rangers bounce back from one of their worst games this season, Rick Nash finally found his scoring touch after returning from a leg injury that sidelined him for almost seven weeks.

Nash scored his first goal since getting back into the lineup March 12, and Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves in leading the Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

"It's no secret: It's been a grind the first five games after a long time away," said Nash, who had 42 goals last season. "Each game I'm just trying to do something to help the team and try to fit in."

Nash, who went hard to the net a couple of times against the Panthers, scored his 13th of the season at 11:14 of the third period to give New York a 3-1 lead. It came less than a minute after Lundqvist stopped a breakaway by Jussi Jokinen to preserve the Rangers' lead.

"After I made that save, we got the puck up there and I was hoping for Nash to get one," Lundqvist said. "It played in perfectly. Nashie has worked so hard for a long time. I think that goal meant a lot to him. It was a big goal for the team as well."

Monday, March 21 Scoreboard

NY Rangers 4, Florida 2    Klein

Philadelphia 4, NY Islanders 1

Toronto 5, Calgary 2

Nashville 5, Los Angeles 2

Tuesday, March 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Buffalo at Carolina, 6 p.m.

Philadelphia at Columbus, 6 p.m.

Anaheim at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

Washington at Ottawa, 6:30 p.m.

Detroit at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m.

Vancouver at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

Dallas at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.

Edmonton at Arizona, 9 p.m.

St. Louis at San Jose, 9:30 p.m.