OTTAWA, Ontario — Erik Karlsson scored on a bad-angle shot with 4:11 left in the third period, sending the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers in the opener of their second-round playoff series on Thursday night.

The Senators captain beat fellow Swede Henrik Lundqvist from just above the goal line. The shot pinged off Rangers center Derek Stepan before going into the net.

“Just wanted to get the puck in there and hope for a good bounce and got a great bounce,” Karlsson said. “Those are always nice to get. And I think that the amount of pucks that we put at the net we deserved one of those.”

It was Karlsson’s first goal and seventh point of the playoffs. The 26-year-old defenseman, who has been playing with a foot injury, also logged more than 28 minutes in the win.

Game 2 is Saturday.

“I think the players didn’t want to get swept in four,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. “We heard from everybody how good they are. It’s all you could hear is how much they’re going to crush us.”

Ryan McDonagh scored for New York, and Lundqvist finished with 41 saves.

Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots and Ryan Dzingel scored for Ottawa.

The Senators, playing in front of several empty seats, had a chance for a fast start, but went 0 for 3 on the power play during a scoreless first period.

The 35-year-old Lundqvist was terrific, especially early on. He made 21 saves in the first, including a pair of stops on Mark Stone during a flurry around the net on Ottawa’s first power play.