Rangers vs. Kings: Rangers Fall to Kings 4-3, Lose Second Straight
The New York Rangers kicked off their California road trip this afternoon, and were defeated 4-3 by the Los Angeles Kings in regulation time. A last minute goal by Alex Martinez sealed the deal for the Kings, while the Rangers fell to a 3-8-1 record on the season. Here is today’s goal breakdown.
1-0 Rangers
Vladislav Namestnikov (1) - Assists: Pavel Buchnevich (2)
The Rangers were able to jump out to the early 1-0 lead in this game as Vlad Namestnikov picked up his first goal of the season. Namestnikov was able to get his own rebound after throwing the puck on net, and was absolutely crushed from behind by Trevor Lewis. The hit sent Namestnikov flying into goaltender Jack Campbell as the puck flipped across the goal line, but the initial call on the ice was no-goal.
After a pretty length review, followed by a Kings challenge, it was deemed a good goal by the officials and the Rangers held the 1-0 lead at 11:11 of the first period.
2-0 Rangers
Tony DeAngelo (1) - Assists: Vladislav Namestnikov (2) & Brett Howden (4)
With their second circus-esque goal of the afternoon, the Rangers grabbed a commanding two goal lead following Tony DeAngelo’s first as a Ranger. While the goal itself was a bit lucky, it was deserved with the effort DeAngelo put forth on the forecheck to create the scoring opportunity. After fighting off Derek Forbort, DeAngelo tossed the puck on net from the goal line, and Jack Campbell wound up kicking the puck into his own net.
2-1 Rangers
Dustin Brown (1) - Assists: Ilya Kovalchuk (4) & Drew Doughty (6)
Up until this point, the Rangers pretty much had the Kings up against the ropes, but Dustin Brown’s power play goal gave the building some life. Ilya Kovalchuk started the sequence with a bullet of a wrist shot from the left circle, and Henrik Lundqvist kicked the rebound out to the top of the crease. Unfortunately, Dustin Brown was camped in that exact spot and slammed home the rebound to make it a one goal game.
2-2 Tie
Ilya Kovalchuk (3) - Assists: Drew Doughty (7) & Anze Kopitar (1)
Nearly two minutes after their first goal, the Kings tied up the game with yet another power play goal. The Rangers shot themselves in the foot with yet another too-many-men bench minor, and Drew Doughty set up Kovalchuk for an absolutely bomb of a slap shot from the high slot. Henrik Lundqvist didn’t stand much of a chance, and within a two minute span, the Rangers found themselves tied.
3-2 Kings
Trevor Lewis (2) - Assists: Adrian Kempe (1) & Ilya Kovalchuk (5)
The Kings were able to carry over their momentum to the third period, where Trevor Lewis scored the third unanswered goal for the Kings. It was nearly identical to their first goal, with Adrian Kempe putting a shot on net, and Trevor Lewis cleaning up the rebound in the crease. The Rangers didn’t clear the crease nearly enough in this game, and for the second time on the afternoon it came back to haunt them.
3-3 Tie
Ryan Spooner (1) - Assists: Tony DeAngelo (3) & Brady Skjei (3)
Ryan Spooner joined in on the afternoon of first’s for the Rangers as he tied up the game with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Tony DeAngelo picked up his second point of the afternoon with a beautiful play to keep the play alive, and found Spooner posted up in the high slot. As soon as the puck hit his tape, Spooner fired a shot on net and beat Jack Campbell under the arm to make it a 3-3 game.
4-3 Kings
Alec Martinez (1) - Unassisted
Of all people on the Kings roster to put this game away with less than a minute remaining, it just had to be Alec Martinez. Despite the Cup Final nightmares being years in the past, there was just something about Martinez icing the game for the Kings this afternoon. It was a relatively harmless play too, which Henrik Lundqvist just simply misplayed. Martinez was able to use Brendan Smith as a screen and ripped a shot through Smith’s legs to give the Kings their final lead of the game.
Following today’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Rangers will have a schedule off day tomorrow before a meeting with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday evening.
