Rangers Ride Big 1st Period, Beat Canadiens 5-3

Erik Christensen scored one of New York's three first-period goals, and the Rangers overcame a 1-for-9 effort on the power play to hang on for a 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Defensemen Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto also scored in the first to pace the Rangers, who swarmed Montreal in the opening period with a 16-3 shot advantage and earned their third straight win -- all at home.

Brad Richards pushed the lead to 4-2 in the second period for the Rangers (6-3-3), who are 3-1-1 on a six-game homestand that ends Sunday against Winnipeg.

Max Pacioretty and Andrei Kostitsyn scored in the second, and Brian Gionta added a goal late in the third for Montreal, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.