Brendan Shanahan scored the tying goal in the third period and then lifted the Rangers to a 3–2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins with the only tally in the shootout last night.

After looking lifeless through two periods, the Rangers woke up in the third and erased a 2–0 deficit when Blair Betts scored a short-handed goal and Shanahan followed with a power-play marker less than two minutes later.

Henrik Lundqvist was perfect in the shootout, stopping Evgeni Malkin, Nils Ekman, and Sidney Crosby in the tiebreaker, snapping the Rangers’ fourgame losing streak (0-1-3).

Ekman did beat Lundqvist with a penalty-shot goal in the first period, but couldn’t repeat it. Crosby doubled Pittsburgh’s lead with a power-play goal in the second, but the Penguins dropped their fourth straight.

The Rangers had only 13 shots through two periods before breaking out with nine in the third and improved to 4–1 in shootouts this season. Lundqvist has stopped all 22 shots he’s faced in the tiebreaker.

Betts cut New York’s deficit in half at 8:43 of the third period when he deflected Jason Ward’s fluttering shot with the shaft of his stick, netting his first goal in 13 games.

Shanahan tied it 90 seconds later, taking Jaromir Jagr’s backhanded drop pass and firing a rising shot over Marc-Andre Fleury’s glove for his 21st of the season.

Fleury showed that his goalie stick is good for more than just stopping pucks when he combined with Mark Recchi to set up Crosby’s 12th goal of the season with 8:27 left in the second period.

The 19-year-old Crosby streaked up ice, eluded Betts and Ward, sliced between defensemen Darius Kasparaitis and Karel Rachunek before putting a shot past Lundqvist for his third powerplay goal of the season.

Fleury, drafted no. 1 overall in 2003 — two years before Crosby went first — has points in consecutive starts after posting only assist in his initial 91 NHL games.

Ekman gave the Penguins a 1–0 lead with a penalty-shot goal after he was dragged down from behind by defenseman Aaron Ward, who was trying to make up for a turnover that led to the breakaway.

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CANADIENS 4, ISLANDERS 2 Saku Koivu’s two power-play goals powered the Montreal Canadiens to a 4–2 victory over the Islanders last night.

Craig Rivet and Guillaume Latendresse also scored for Montreal, which moved five points ahead of Toronto and Ottawa for second place in the Northeast Division. Cristobal Huet stopped 25 shots for his 11th win.

Arron Asham and Mike Sillinger scored for the Islanders, losers of two straight at home. Rick DiPietro had 32 saves.

The Islanders, who enjoyed a two-day stay atop the Atlantic Division, fell to third place, two points behind the Rangers and Devils.