Callahan scores again, helps Rangers top Caps 3-2

NEW YORK — Back to back, day game after day game, away or home: No matter what obstacles are thrown in front of the New York Rangers these days, none seem to pose a threat to the Eastern Conference leaders.

Less than 24 hours after dispatching the Flyers in Philadelphia during a Saturday matinee, Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers hosted the Washington Capitals and skated off with a grinding 3-2 victory on Sunday.

No flash, no showtime. Just solid work at both ends of the ice that produced a goal in each period and kept Alex Ovechkin and Co. at bay.

"We talked about not having any excuses going into this game, even though it was less than 20 hours from the last game," said Lundqvist, who made 24 saves after stopping 31 Flyers shots in Saturday's 5-2 win. "We tried to set the tone right away. To get the first goal was big for us."

That one was scored by captain Ryan Callahan, who has provided the bulk of the offense in the Rangers' three-game winning streak, following a 1-0 home loss to New Jersey on Tuesday. Callahan scored against Tampa Bay on Thursday and notched his second career hat trick Saturday with a three-goal outburst.

Ryan McDonagh gave New York a 2-1 lead with 6:39 left in the second-period, and Brandon Prust broke a 48-game goal drought with a short-handed tally in the third.

The Rangers (36-13-5) have won four of five, and six of eight (6-1-1). They are 19-5-1 in their past 25 games and 33-10-3 since starting the season 3-3-2, heading into a showdown with the Stanley Cup champion Bruins on Tuesday at Boston.

The Bruins trail the Rangers by seven points.

"It's been an intense 24 hours here with two tough games," Lundqvist said. "It's been a great week for us, and we should feel good about ourselves and go into Boston and get ready for that one."

New York didn't need its suddenly potent power play that had connected four times in the previous two wins after being mostly invisible for weeks. The Rangers were 0 for 2 with the advantage and killed both Washington power plays.

Alexander Semin scored, defenseman John Carlson had a goal and assist, and Michal Neuvirth stopped 25 shots for the Capitals, who have lost four of six (2-3-1) and sit ninth in the East playoff race.

Neuvirth got the surprise nod after Tomas Vokoun took the pregame warmup as the presumed starter. Neuvirth was an emergency fill-in because Vokoun was ill.