It was all about the big performances from the Kings depth that stepped up in the Kings win over the New York Rangers.
The Los Angeles Kings (28-24-15) end their five-game road trip with a bounce-back 4-1 win over the New York Rangers (28-31-8), snapping New York's four-game win streak, after suffering that disappointing loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
The opening period began with Drew Doughty snapping an impressive long-range shot through traffic to give LA the early 1-0 lead. The Kings once again played great defense to start, frustrating the Rangers on offense despite New York not drawing a penalty; they still struggled to score and generate shots on goal, holding the Rangers to just six. LA outshot the Rangers 8-6 during the quiet offensive period.
The second period began with the Kings remaining hot, scoring two goals in a span of 28 seconds in the first four minutes of the second period to hold a commanding 3-0 lead. It all began with Mikey Anderson putting in the rebound after Alex Laferriere was fed by Quinton Byfield in the slot. LA took advantage and cleaned up the shot on the 4-on-2 rush.
A few seconds later, the Rangers got called on their first power play of the game, and this time Alex Laferriere was able to get the shot up himself and put it through the net to give Los Angeles a 3-0 lead.
Artemi Panarin also returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time since being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. The fans gave him a standing ovation, a much-deserved honor for the four-time All-Star.
Panarin finished the game with one assist and one point, while Alex Laferriere finished with one goal, one assist, and two points. Los Angeles also got help from their defenseman Mikey Anderson, who scored one goal, one assist, and two points, while Quinton Byfield had a nice night spreading the wealth with two assists and two points.
The dominance began in the second period, with the Kings outshooting the Rangers 16-3, once again putting in that defensive effort under D.J. Smith as interim head coach.
The second period would end with the Kings leading 3-0, in the perfect position to win this game.
New York did score on a power play goal to cut the deficit to 3-1 two minutes into the final frame, but couldn't generate goals. Despite outshooting the Kings by a big margin, 13-2, the Rangers had one chance to score and cut the deficit to 1, but hit the crossbar and never got back in the game.
With under two minutes remaining in the final period, the Kings sealed the deal with Trevor Moore capitalizing on the empty-netter to close out the Rangers 4-1 in MSG.
Overall, it was a great bounce-back win for the Kings in a must-win situation after dropping to sixth over the weekend. Los Angeles is now tied with Seattle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
LA ends their five-game road trip with a 3-1-1 record and stays in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Kings will return to Crypto.com Arena on Thursday to host the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:30 PM PT.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.