Zuccarello leads Rangers over Senators

NEW YORK >> Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist to lead New York to a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, cutting the Rangers’ deficit to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Michael Graber, Rick Nash and Oscar Lindberg also scored, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 26 shots for the Rangers. New York has won three straight playoff games at Madison Square Garden after losing six straight on home ice, including Game 3 of the first round against Montreal.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who had four goals in Ottawa’s 6-5 doubleovertime win in Game 2, scored again for the Senators, and Craig Anderson finished with 26 saves. Game 4 is Thursday night. Looking to avoid falling into a 0-3 series hole and with the home crowd buzzing from the singing of the national anthems, the Rangers came out aggressive from the start. They outshot the Senators 15-5 in the first period while building a 2-0 lead.

Also: Leafs ink Zaitsev to 7-year deal

TORONTO >> The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to a seven-year contract extension.

The deal, announced Tuesday, is for $4.5 million per season and extends through the 2023-24 season.

The 25-year-old Zaitsev had a solid rookie season in 2016-17, registering 36 points (four goals, 32 assists) in 82 games and leading Toronto players with an average of just over 22 minutes of ice time per game.

Prior to signing with Toronto, Zaitsev played in 317 regular season games in the Kontinental Hockey League, registering 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists).