Rangers Hold off Senators in Game 7, 2-1 The New York Rangers are likely more relieved than ecstatic now that they have outlasted the pesky Ottawa Senators. It wasn't easy, and after a home loss in Game 5, it almost wasn't likely. But the Eastern Conference's top-seeded team gutted out a big road win and then made it count Thursday night when the Rangers held off the Senators 2-1 in Game 7 to advance to the second round. "You don't want to relax too much" said forward Derek Stepan, who had three points in the Rangers' Game 6 win and then helped set up the opening goal in the clincher. We have a big round ahead of us and we have to make sure we stay focused and keep that emotion high. Defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi scored 4:18 apart in the second period, Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves and the Rangers eliminated the eighth-seeded Senators - completing a rally from a 3-2 hole after losing Game 5. "We were talking about it in Ottawa that if we could bring it back here, the fans would be behind us," Girardi said. The way we play all year got us ready for games like this. We came with a great effort (in Ottawa) and another one tonight. Staal broke the scoreless deadlock, and Girardi gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead with his first career NHL playoff goal. Lundqvist allowed Daniel Alfredsson's power-play goal in the second but stood tall the rest of the way to send the Rangers into a second-round matchup with the seventh-seeded Washington Capitals. New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, of Sweden, makes a save on a shot by the Ottawa Senators during the first period of Game 7 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series on Thursday, April 26, 2012, in New York. The Rangers hadn't hosted a Game 7 since their Stanley Cup victory over Vancouver in 1994, but they stayed perfect at home in deciding games - winning their fourth. New York is 4-5 overall in Game 7, and the Senators dropped to 0-5. "We knew they were going to come out strong," said Senators goalie Craig Anderson, who made 27 saves. I just wanted to make sure that I gave my team an opportunity to win the hockey game - make the next save for the guys They had their fans. They had lots of energy. Lundqvist withstood tons of pressure from the Senators, who spent most of the closing 5 minutes in the Rangers' end. The win wasn't secure until Sergei Gonchar tripped Carl Hagelin as he skated toward the empty net with 36.2 seconds remaining. New York rallied from a 3-2 series deficit for just the second time, building off the momentum of its 3-2 victory in Ottawa on Monday night. "It was a hard series against a very good team," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. I thought both teams went toe to toe in all areas of the game. Sometimes the first round is the hardest round. That's all this is, one round. We found a way. We were fortunate. I'm very happy with the group, and they should be real proud of themselves - for about an hour. Just like in Game 6, when the Rangers scored three goals in the second period, New York used the middle frame to take over. While waiting for their big guns - Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards - to spark the offense, a pair of defensemen stepped up to get the Rangers going. "It was big for our team," Girardi said. We were able to take care of our end first, but if we get goals it's nice, as well. Rookie Chris Kreider, whose first NHL goal was the winner Monday, forced a turnover and got the puck into the Ottawa end. Ryan Callahan nudged it ahead to Stepan, who sent a pass from the right circle to the left circle to Staal for his first goal of the series 4:46 into the second.