PITTSBURGH – Anton Volchenkov scored on a slap shot from the slot midway through the third period and the Ottawa Senators moved within one victory of eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins by winning 2-1 Tuesday night.

The Senators proved they could win a one-goal game when it counts – they lost 22 of 32 such games during the regular season, despite finishing second in the league in goal scoring. They weathered a dominating second period by Pittsburgh, a reversal of the first three games, and remained patient and persistent until getting the game winner.

Ottawa takes a 3-1 lead into Game 5 on Thursday night, where the teams split the first two games in the Eastern Conference first-round series.

The go-ahead goal by Volchenkov, one of the least likely scorers in a series matching two of the NHL’s three best offensive teams, came amid an ever-shifting flow in which one team would press for a goal and the other would answer, creating an up-and-down and entertaining game despite the relative lack of scoring.

Rangers 7, Thrashers 0

NEW YORK – Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander made Kari Lehtonen long for his safe spot on the bench. And the New York Rangers’ top line needed less than a period to do it.

Lehtonen got the curious start over Johan Hedberg and then endured a thorough beating as the Rangers scored three times in the first period and cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers that gave New York a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series Tuesday night.

Nylander had his first playoff hat trick, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots in his first NHL playoff shutout for the Rangers, who can advance to the second round as early as Wednesday.

Lehtonen was touched for all seven goals on 35 shots. That was enough for the Rangers’ victory theme “Sweet Caroline” to play with 5:16 remaining over chants of “Sweep! Sweep!”

Jagr assisted on all three of Nylander’s scores and they teamed to set up defenseman Marek Malik for another that made it 3-0 at 12:26.

But Nylander had the quickest strike, 32 seconds after the opening faceoff.

Canucks 2, Stars 1

DALLAS – The Vancouver Canucks may not have to worry about making another long flight to Dallas.

Trevor Linden shoveled a rebound past Marty Turco with 5:31 left in the third period and defenseman Willie Mitchell prevented a tie by sweeping a trickling puck off the goal line, giving the Canucks a 2-1 victory over the Stars on Tuesday night.

Vancouver leads the series 3-1. The Canucks can advance to the second round – and avoid a return trip to Texas – with a victory at home Thursday night.

Dallas is in jeopardy of being eliminated in a five-game, first-round series for the third straight postseason. A big part of the Stars’ problem has been an inability to win at home. This was their sixth straight home playoff loss covering those three playoffs.