NEW YORK - When March rolls around and teams are talking about how good December was, chances are those clubs aren't heading to the NHL playoffs.

Welcome to the world of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers.

Both teams entered Sunday's matchup having won their previous game, but neither had mustered a winning streak since before Christmas.

Something had to give.

Pittsburgh scored first, but the Rangers tied it. The Penguins led by two goals, and let the Rangers catch up again. Finally, the Penguins scored three goals in less than three minutes late in the third period and beat New York 7-4.

"We've got a winning streak. We're happy about that," defenseman Dick Tarnstrom said. "The last week and a half has been pretty good."

The Penguins have been dealing with all kinds of streaks this season, none of which were any good.

Tarnstrom scored a tying goal in the second period, then set up Konstantin Koltsov's winner with 6:27 remaining.

Ryan Malone stretched the lead 53 seconds later and Milan Kraft's second of the game made it 7-4 for the Penguins, 4-2-1 since breaking their 18-game losing streak.

Pittsburgh, an NHL-worst 15-44-6-4, hadn't won two straight since Dec. 13-16. On Saturday, the Penguins knocked off the Mighty Ducks to snap a 16-game winless streak at home. Their best month was December (4-8-1-2).

Even against the lowly Rangers, who won six times in December to match November for their top month, the Penguins were 0-3.

But this was a different opponent than the one Pittsburgh played earlier this season. The Rangers underwent a drastic turnover the previous five days, making four trades that eliminated Brian Leetch, Alex Kovalev and Petr Nedved from the roster.

"It sure has changed, there's no question," Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said. "The biggest thing that we've had a tough time dealing with this year when we played this team is when you are a young team that is very impressionable, sometimes you look at the names at the back of the jerseys more than you look at the front."

The Rangers are approaching the end of a seventh straight season without a playoff appearance.

Matthew Barnaby scored two goals in what was likely his last game with the Rangers, and Mark Messier and Jan Hlavac added three assists each.

Barnaby scored in the first period to bring the Rangers into a 1-1 tie and then got his 100th NHL goal with 2.4 seconds left in the middle period to get New York even at 4.

"I just took the puck. I'm really glad I scored it in a Ranger uniform," he said.

The gritty Barnaby is expected to be dealt before the NHL trade deadline Tuesday.

"It has obviously crept into my mind," Barnaby said. "It is a tough game to play."

Messier's name has also come up, but leaving New York is not in his plans. The captain, who has two goals and eight assists in six games, doesn't want to be dealt and might not report if traded.

"I don't feel like going somewhere else is really what I'm looking for," the 43-year-old Messier said.

Rob Scuderi scored his first NHL goal and had his first multipoint game by assisting on Kraft's first goal.

Notes:

Seven goals is Pittsburgh's season high. ... Josef Balej, acquired Tuesday from Montreal for Kovalev, was recalled from Hartford of the AHL, but didn't play. ... The Penguins have scored first in only 23 of 69 games, and earned 10 of their 15 victories (10-8-3-2).