Rangers top Kings with three goals in 3rd period
Rookie Igor Shesterkin made 42 saves as the host New York Rangers scored three times in the third period and recorded a 4-1 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night.
Shesterkin, who improved to 5-1 since making his NHL debut on Jan. 7, made 30 saves in the final 40 minutes before the Rangers put the game away.
Greg McKegg scored early in the first period while rookie Kaapo Kakko netted the eventual game-winner in the third for the Rangers, who entered Sunday 11 points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Artemi Panarin added an insurance goal for the Rangers and defenseman Tony DeAngelo scored an empty-net goal as New York stopped a four-game losing streak to Los Angeles.
Trevor Moore scored his first goal since joining the Kings in a trade with Toronto but it was not enough as Los Angeles dropped to 1-9-1, a skid in which it has failed to exceed three goals in any game.
Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick made 37 saves and took his eighth straight loss as the Kings also completed a winless (0-4-0) four-game road trip.
The Rangers capitalized on a misplay by Quick behind his own net to go ahead 2:23 into the game. Quick came out of the net to handle the puck behind the net but turned it over to defenseman Ryan Lindgren and moments later McKegg fired a wrist shot from the left side into the vacated portion of the net.
Kakko made it 2-0 with 10:40 remaining by ending a 13-goal drought when he one-timed a pass from Filip Chytil over Quick's glove. New York's second goal occurred about three minutes after Mika Zibanejad hit the right post and crossbar.
Moore made it a one-goal game with 9:13 left when he lifted a wrist shot over the glove of a diving Shesterkin, getting the goal after a pass from Austin Wagner deflected off the skate of a New York defender.
Panarin was denied when Quick made a toe save on him with about four minutes left but he clinched the win by scoring on a rebound to finish off an odd-man rush with Ryan Strome with 2:48 remaining.
--Field Level Media
