Rangers Tie Series 2-2 with Senators; Henrik Lundqvist, Oscar Lindberg Shine

All the New York Rangers needed was some home cooking.

New York evened its series with the Ottawa Senators at two games apiece with a 4-1 victory in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The home team has prevailed in every game of this series, and the Rangers are two wins away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four years.

Oscar Lindberg scored two goals in the second period after Nick Holden found the back of the net in the first. Chris Kreider added a power-play goal in the third.

Despite New York's offensive onslaught, veteran goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was the story. He was particularly impressive in the third period when he stood tall against Ottawa's desperation and protected the lead, finishing with 22 saves on 23 shots.

Kyle Turris finally beat Lundqvist in the last period, but it came after the Rangers were already comfortably ahead by four.

Lundqvist's counterpart, Craig Anderson, was pulled after allowing three goals on 20 shots. While Lindberg's second goal should have been saved, the Senators defense didn't exactly put the goaltender in a position to succeed, as Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports pointed out:

Replacement goaltender Mike Condon couldn't keep the Senators within striking distance and allowed New York's fourth goal.

Whenever a team is trailing in a series, it needs everyone to make plays, and that is exactly what Holden did to open the scoring against Anderson. The defenseman has never scored more than 11 goals in a single season throughout his career and had no postseason goals in 2017 entering Thursday's contest.

He changed that in the first period.

Wyshynski responded to the defender's timely offense, which saw him streak down the left side and take Kevin Hayes' pass in stride:

Mike Morreale of NHL.com questioned Ottawa's lead in the series at the time despite New York's overall dominance:

The Rangers continued their stranglehold when Lindberg buried Michael Grabner's pass on a two-on-zero breakaway and then all but sealed it when he sniped another past Anderson with less than five minutes remaining in the second period.

Tanner Glass assisted on both of Lindberg's goals, and he unleashed some physicality in the final minute with the game already in hand. The offense was more than enough for Lundqvist, and the two teams mixed it up with multiple skirmishes in an effort to set the tone moving forward.

Kreider's power-play goal provided further breathing room and ensured Ottawa's one breakthrough didn't lead to a nerve-racking final few minutes for the home crowd.

Lundqvist and the Rangers appeared nearly unbeatable Thursday, but the Senators can take solace in the fact New York has looked like a different team on the road. Saturday's Game 5, as well as a potential Game 7 if the home team victories continue, will be in Ottawa.