NEW YORK — Blair Betts' task was simple: Shut down Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins' top line.

The veteran checking-line center did that and then some. Betts kept the NHL's leading scorer and his linemates off the board and added a goal in the third period that helped the New York Rangers to a key 2-1 victory over the Penguins on Monday night.

"We stepped up big time," Betts said of the trio that includes hard-hitters Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr. "There have been a number of times in the last dozen games or so where the majority of our ice time has come against the other team's top line.

"We are pretty reliable. We don't try and do too much offensively or be too creative."

Betts' ninth of the season came when he spun in the slot to get his stick on Dan Girardi's blue-line drive and deflected it past goalie Jocelyn Thibault 47 seconds into the final frame, snapping a scoreless deadlock.

Michel Ouellet tied it for Pittsburgh with 5:42 left, but captain Jaromir Jagr put New York ahead for good with his 25th of the season scored with 33.8 seconds remaining.

"We played well," Betts said. "We knew they were coming off a tough game (Sunday). They were going to be a little bit tired so we concentrated on keeping the game simple. We were pretty fresh and they weren't."

Jagr snapped a skid of his own when his pass for teammate Michael Nylander clipped off Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi's stick and slipped into the net. Jagr hadn't scored in eight games, tying his longest drought of the season.

"I am not 24 chasing any records anymore," the 35-year-old Jagr said. "My goal is to make the playoffs. Right now it doesn't matter as long as we win."

New York moved past idle Carolina into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, two nights after getting into playoff position. The Rangers, who nearly put up back-to-back shutouts for the first time since March 2003, trail sixth-place Tampa Bay by one point with nine games left.

Jagr swung around Alain Nasreddine and flipped the puck toward the net. The drive hit Scuderi and slipped underneath Thibault, who stopped 40 of New York's previous 41 shots. The puck disappeared, but it was revealed over the line when Thibault moved his legs.

"I thought it was in but I wasn't 100 percent sure," said Jagr, who reached 25 goals for the 16th straight season.

The goal was awarded after a lengthy video review. Thibault hung his head in the crease and again on the bench after being pulled for an extra skater. He didn't face another shot, but Jagr's score was enough to snap Pittsburgh's winning streak at five and improve the Rangers' run to 7-1-3.

"I was just trying to squeeze my pads," Thibault said. "I didn't know where it was. For a second I kind of had it. You couldn't see the puck until I split my pads. Knowing that, I would've moved my pads the other way."

The Penguins could've tied New Jersey atop the Atlantic Division with a win, but remained two points back. Thibault sparkled in place of No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who backstopped a 4-3 shootout victory over Ottawa at home Sunday night.

Pittsburgh is 7-1-1 in its last nine and went 4-1 during a stretch of five games in seven days.

"If you look at the big picture, you have to be satisfied," coach Michel Therrien said. "What makes it tough is that we were about 30 seconds from picking up at least another point."