Artem Anisimov scored the first of three Rangers goals during a 31/2-minute span early in the second period, and New York routed a frustrated Alex Ovechkin and the slumping Washington Capitals 7-0 on Sunday night.
Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in his fifth shutout of the season and Ryan Callahan scored twice in the third period as the Rangers handed Washington its sixth consecutive defeat.
Mired in a scoring slump, Ovechkin got in a rare fight when he went toe-to-toe with New York's Brandon Dubinsky in the second period, then left the game in the third after being hit by a shot.
After the two-time NHL MVP threw a hip check on Dan Girardi in the offensive zone, Ovechkin skated up ice and dropped his gloves to go at Dubinsky, who landed multiple overhand rights before wrestling Ovechkin to the ice. The Capitals' captain was booed every time he touched the puck following the fight.
Marian Gaborik and Dubinsky also scored early in the second to put the Rangers ahead 4-0. Marc Staal added a short-handed goal off a 2-on-1 with Brian Boyle at 10:42.
Brandon Prust opened the scoring at 17:57 of the first. Semyon Varlamov allowed all seven goals on 20 shots.
Washington, a preseason Stanley Cup favorite, has dropped six in a row for the first time since March 2007. The last time the Capitals lost to the Rangers by at least seven goals was an 11-4 setback in March 1978.
The Rangers did their best imitation of the high-scoring Caps as they broke loose for four goals in the first 10:42 of the second period. Anisimov snapped an Ovechkin-like shot through a defenseman's legs and past Varlamov 59 seconds in.
Gaborik increased the lead to 3-0 with a power-play tip of Staal's shot at 3:07. Dubinsky scored his 14th of the season at 4:30, and Staal connected at 10:42 on a smooth move after a nice pass from Boyle.
Washington responded with its fists. Matt Hendricks fought Mike Sauer at center ice 44 seconds after Dubinsky's goal, but that was only the undercard to the Ovechkin-Dubinsky main event at 9:43.
Ovechkin, who has three goals in Washington's last 16 games, was limited to four shots in 16:01 while matched up against the Girardi-Staal defensive pairing.
Notes: Ovechkin has 12 goals and 36 points this season.
