Claude Giroux broke a tie early in the third period, former Ranger Derick Brassard scored twice and the visiting Ottawa Senators beat New York 5-3 on Thursday night to spoil Patrick Kane's Rangers debut.
Brassard — playing his 1,000th game — tied it at 1:35 with his 11th of the season off an assist from Giroux, who beat netminder Jaroslav Halak for his 26th goal at 3:26 to put Ottawa ahead to stay.
Shane Pinto and Tim Stützle (empty net) also scored for Ottawa, and Cam Talbot made 29 saves. WATCH | Brassard scores twice against Rangers in 1,000th NHL game: Talbot denied Kane with a pad save with five minutes left in the third to preserve the win as the Rangers lost for only the second time in their last eight home games.
The Rangers are still 24-8-4 since Dec. 5. Ottawa has entered the playoff race with an 11-3-1 surge since losing at home to Winnipeg on Jan.