Rangers 4, Capitals 2: Rick Nash recorded his fourth two-goal performance of the season and Martin St. Louis added a pair of power-play tallies as host New York extended its season-high winning streak to seven games.

Nash added an assist on St. Louis' goal during a 5-on-3 advantage late in the third period and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 30 saves for the Rangers, who moved past Washington and into third place in the Metropolitan Division heading into the Christmas break. Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello each notched a pair of assists in the victory.

Evgeny Kuznetsov and captain Alex Ovechkin scored in the third period for the Capitals, who saw both their three-game winning streak and nine-game point run (7-0-2) come to an end. Defenseman John Carlson notched two assists in his 350th NHL contest and Braden Holtby turned aside 23 shots while making his 11th consecutive start.

Brassard led New York on a 3-on-2 rush before sliding a feed to Zuccarello, who wristed a shot that caromed off the left ankle of Nash and into the net 3:32 into the first period to open the scoring. St. Louis doubled the advantage 1:03 into the second by one-timing defenseman Dan Boyle's feed from along the end line on the right side past Holtby.

Washington registered nine shots in the first three minutes of the third period, but Nash put it back on its heels with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that squeezed inside the near post at 5:12 for his team-leading 22nd goal. Kuznetsov's sharp-angle shot from deep in the right circle 41 seconds later got the Capitals on the board and Ovechkin added his team-leading 16th tally during a power play at 10:58, but St. Louis batted home a loose puck after Nash's shot caromed off the post to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New York last won seven in a row from Oct. 31-Nov. 15, 2011. ... St. Louis leads the Rangers with five power-play goals. ... Boyle recorded his first assist of the season on St. Louis' first tally of the contest.