Rangers vs Kings: Rangers Give Up Late Goal and Fall to Kings in Overtime
The New York Rangers lost their second straight game this evening as they were defeated 4-3 in overtime by the Los Angeles Kings. The Rangers had a one-goal lead late in the third period, but the Kings scored with under a minute remaining and scored shortly into the overtime period. Mika Zibanejad continued his scoring ways, and added a goal and an assist to bring him up to a point-per-game pace.
1-0 Rangers
Chris Kreider (24) - Tony DeAngelo (9) & Mika Zibanejad (31) - 8:32 1st Period
After coming out slow against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Rangers reversed the script in this game and absolutely dominated the Kings during the first period. With the momentum in their favor, Chris Kreider tallied his 24th goal of the season off of a beautiful feed from Tony DeAngelo below the goal line. Kreider was able to open up for the pass from DeAngelo, and buried the puck with an easy tap in at the top of the crease.
1-1 Tie
Adrian Kempe (6) - Ilya Kovalchuk (14) & Carl Hagelin (5) - 17:23 1st Period
Despite the Rangers absolutely dominating the period, the Kings were able to spoil some of that momentum with under three minutes to go in the first. Adrian Kempe was able to find a soft spot in the Rangers coverage, and he burned Jesper Fast to the empty ice on a 2-on-1 rush. Ilya Kovalchuk setup Kempe with a cross-ice feed from the right side of the net, and Kempe buried the one-timer to make it a 1-1 game.
2-1 Rangers
Mika Zibanejad (21) - Mats Zuccarello (20) & Marc Staal (9) - 0:32 2nd Period
Even though the Rangers gave up the late goal in the first period, they responded almost immediately in the second period. Mika Zibanejad continued his torrid scoring pace as he tapped home a loose puck in the crease and gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Mats Zuccarello also added the primary assist on the goal, bringing his total up to 20 assists on the season.
2-2 Tie
Anze Kopitar (16) - Ilya Kovalchuk (15) - 5:04 3rd Period
The Kings were able to find the tying goal early in the third period as Anze Kopitar forced a turnover in the offensive zone, and eventually backhanded the puck past Henrik Lundqvist. Neal Pionk was caught watching the play as Kopitar slipped into the high slot, and finished off a centering feed from Ilya Kovalchuk to make it a 2-2 game.
3-2 Rangers
Adam McQuaid (1) - Unassisted - 9:15 3rd Period
However, a little over four minutes later, the Rangers regained their lead with Adam McQuaid’s first goal as a Ranger. McQuaid was able to toss a shot on net through traffic, and Vladislav Namestnikov provided just enough of a screen to completely take away Jonathan Quick’s vision. The puck soared right under Quick’s shoulder, and McQuaid’s first goal gave the Rangers their third lead of the night.
3-3 Tie
Adrian Kempe (7) - Tyler Toffoli (13) & Michael Amadio (3) - 19:00 3rd Period
With the Rangers looking to close out the game, the Kings pulled their goaltender late in the third period and it wound up paying off. Adrian Kempe burned the Rangers yet again as he shoveled home the game-tying goal with a minute left. Tyler Toffoli provided the pass to setup the game, and Kempe got just enough on the puck to slip it by Henrik Lundqvist.
4-3 Kings
Tyler Toffoli (9) - Adrian Kempe (9) - 0:25 Overtime
The Rangers were clearly still stunned from the tying goal late in the third period, and they never fully recovered when the puck dropped for overtime. The duo of Adrian Kempe and Tyler Toffoli capped the comeback as Toffoli ripped home the game winner just 25 seconds into the overtime period. Kempe created the initial rush after Mika Zibanejad rang a shot off of post, and the Kings came back the other way to win the game in overtime.
Following the heartbreaking overtime loss, the Rangers will have a scheduled off day tomorrow before returning to action on Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins.