New York, NY (Sports Network) - Sean Avery notched a pair of goals and Henrik Lundqvist turned in a strong performance between the pipes to help the New York Rangers secure a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

Martin Straka had a goal and an assist, while Ryan Callahan and Fredrik Sjostrom also tallied for New York, which snapped a two-game skid and is 11-2-3 in its last 16 overall.

Lundqvist finished with 22 saves on the night, earning his 100th career victory. The win gives the Rangers 85 points, but leaves them in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Their standing also remains the same in the Atlantic Division, as the Blueshirts occupy the third slot -- three points ahead of Philadelphia.

"It's fun to reach that (100-win milestone), but hopefully I can reach a lot more," said Lundqvist. "It was just a big win for us. We had a tough road trip and we wanted to come back here, play at home and get a win against a really good team. It was a good start to the week, and we have two really tough games coming up."

Lundqvist is the fastest netminder in club history to 100 wins, needing just 187 games to accomplish the feat. Mike Richter held the old mark, compiling 100 wins in 198 contests.

Jarkko Ruutu and Jordan Staal lit the lamp, and Ty Conklin turned aside 25- of-30 shots for Pittsburgh, which had a three-game win streak snapped and remains in second place in the Atlantic , a point behind idle New Jersey. The Penguins are fourth in the East.

"For a few minutes there was a breakdown," said Pittsburgh head coach Michel Therrien. "Big turnovers cost us the game, and they were a better team than us tonight."

Both teams came out skating hard, but it was the Rangers who jumped on the board first. In a play structured around the defense, New York was able to send the puck end-to-end before Avery capped the quick surge with a wrister over the glove of Conklin at 11:07.

Callahan made it 2-0 only 40 seconds later, as he swept a rebound through the five-hole of the netminder from just below the left circle.

Pittsburgh answered 1:38 into the middle stanza, as Ruutu took an outlet pass from Ryan Whitney, charged toward the net and lifted the puck over a sprawling Lundqvist.

Staal made it 2-2 less than two minutes later, poking home his own rebound after Lundqvist misplayed the puck off the left side of the crease.

A Pittsburgh giveaway in its own end allowed the Rangers to slip back in front 44 ticks later, as Sjostrom intercepted a feed in the mid-slot and buried it in the net.

New York widened the margin early in the third, as Conklin left a rebound out front and Avery was there to finish it off from in close, making it 4-2 at the 5:37 mark.

Straka capped the offensive outburst with his 13th of the season at the 11:29 mark, giving New York an insurmountable 5-2 lead.