Krejci's OT goal lifts Bruins over Rangers, 3-2

BOSTON (AP) David Pastrnak believes good things come to those who wait.

The Bruins have done plenty of waiting lately. And plenty of winning.

Pastrnak scored his NHL-leading 24th goal and assisted on David Krejci's goal 1:40 into overtime, and Boston came from two goals down to beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday.

The Bruins rallied for their sixth straight win after finding themselves in the familiar situation of a late-game deficit.

After Sean Kuraly made it 2-1 with 1:32 left in the second, Pastrnak tied it to force overtime on a one-timer from the left circle 4:27 into the third.

''We know after the second period if we're down by one, (we know) that we can score that one goal,'' Pastrnak said. ''We have all 20 minutes to score one goal, and we know that if we play the right way, we will get it eventually.''

Krejci's goal, his fifth of the season, came on a left-circle wrist shot against an out-of-position Henrik Lundqvist after a give-and-go with Pastrnak, who created space with a deke in the right circle before feeding Krejci through the slot.

''Just give the puck to a good player. I gave it to Pasta. He made a play. Pretty much an open net,'' Krejci said.

Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves for the Bruins. Boston matched its longest winning streak of the season and its longest point streak at 10 games (7-0-3).

''I thought we certainly pushed in the third and overtime,'' Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. ''Just like to see it happen a little sooner.''

Pavel Buchnevich and Filip Chytil scored for the Rangers. Lundqvist had 24 saves as New York's three-game winning streak was snapped.

''Maybe if you look at the schedule and say you're going to come out of Boston with a point you're going to feel good about it, but we feel like we ****** away a point,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said.

New York failed to record a shot during a 5-on-3 chance late in the second and also couldn't convert on an extended power play late in the third after Boston's Par Lindholm was assessed a double minor for high-sticking.

The Rangers finished 0 for 6 on the power play.

''It was almost like they were asleep for 35 minutes and after they kill off the 5 on 3, it's almost like they decided to turn it up a little bit,'' Lundqvist said. ''The difference tonight and why they're winning is their PK and Pastrnak.''

Buchnevich's fifth goal this season put New York up 1-0 with 5:46 to play in the first period. Buchnevich beat Halak high to the glove side on a shot from the low slot after Tony DeAngelo's pass from the sideboards.

Chytil's eighth of the season doubled the Rangers' lead at 6:21 of the second. Chytil charged into the slot and scored five-hole on Halak after Ryan Strome's shot from the right circle bounced off Halak right to Chytil.

Jake DeBrusk's blue-line shot caught a piece of Kuraly's stick, bounced off the left post and trickled in to make it 2-1 after Lundqvist's inadvertent stick swat.

Krejci's feed through the slot set up Pastrnak's tying goal.

Boston was without Brad Marchand for the start of the third after he was pulled off the ice by a concussion spotter following an elbow from Jacob Trouba in the second.

Marchand was visibly agitated as he made his way down the tunnel before later returning.

''That's embarrassing,'' Marchand said. ''Guy's up there busy eating pizzas and cheeseburgers and can't watch the game. Maybe next time he (won't) pull this out of his butt and watch the game.''

NOTES: New York D Brendan Smith skated off with 7:02 left in the third after a high stick to the face from Lindholm. ... Boston remained the only NHL team without a regulation home loss this season at 10-0-4. ... Pastrnak finished November with 12 goals after also scoring 12 in October. ... Rangers C Artemi Panarin assisted on Chytil's goal, giving him a team-record 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) in November. Panarin has at least a point in 16 of his last 17 games and 20 of 24 this season. ... Bruins C Patrice Bergeron (lower body) remains day-to-day after sitting out for the fifth time in seven games. ... Lundqvist entered with the best career save percentage (.929) against the Bruins among all goalies with a minimum of 30 games against. Lundqvist allowed four goals on 31 shots before being pulled after two periods in New York's 7-4 home loss to Boston on Oct. 27. ... Boston debuted its newest alternate jersey, a black sweater with a large ''B'' logo on the front and yellow accent stripes. The logo is a throwback to the 1940-era Bruins teams that won two Stanley Cup titles.

UP NEXT

Rangers: At New Jersey on Saturday.

Georgiev gets 3rd career shutout, Rangers beat Devils 4-0

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Assistant coach Lindy Ruff has been working on the New York Rangers’ penalty-killing the last two weeks. His efforts are paying off in a big way.

Alexandar Georgiev stopped 33 shots for his third career shutout and the Rangers scored two short-handed goals while killing off eight New Jersey power plays in a 4-0 win over the Devils on Saturday.

New York limited New Jersey to seven shots on goal in its 15 minutes with the man advantage. Since giving up seven power-play goals on 11 chances in losses at Tampa Bay and Florida this month, the Rangers have allowed just four in 29 chances the last seven games.

“Certainly not the way you draw up winning the hockey game, taking that many penalties and having that many penalty minutes to kill,” coach David Quinn said. “Just so proud of our guys, the way we found a way to win. Really gutted it out, stood tall on our penalty kill.

“We went through a stretch where our penalty kill was really hurting us. ... Give Lindy a lot of credit. He’s worked awfully hard at it and our guys have really responded.”

New York improved to 4-0-1 in its last five games. Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, and Jesper Fast, Adam Fox and Brady Skjei also scored.

Georgiev had 11 saves in the first, 10 in the second and 12 in the third to get New York’s first shutout of the season.

“When you look at it 4-0 and you kill that many penalties, your goalie needs to be good and he was good when he needed to be,” Quinn said. “Georgie had a big part in this win, that’s for sure.”

Mackenzie Blackwood had 19 saves for New Jersey, which lost for the fourth time in six games.

“There's not much to be said,” the Devils’ Taylor Hall said. “It was a huge special teams game and their (power play) got one on a limited number of chances and we got zero, and then outscored by two. It's unacceptable.”

The Devils had five power plays in the second period, including one that carried over from the final minute of the opening period. However, they managed just three shots on goal - all by Nico Hischier. New Jersey had six shots go wide, and an attempt by Jesper Bratt went over the net on the third man advantage.

The fifth penalty, a double-minor on Libor Hajek for high-sticking Wayne Simmonds, began in the final minute of the second.

“Obviously we don’t want to take this many penalties but we did a good job,” Zibanejad said. “Even to start the third with a double minor. We hung in there. ... We stayed with our structure. We didn’t give them that many chances.”

Zibanejad, playing his third game after missing 13 with an injury, made it 2-0 with a short-handed goal from the left side on a give-and-go with Brendan Lemieux at 2:35 of the third.

The Devils got a sixth power play at 5:21 when Chris Kreider was whistled for a five-minute major for boarding Kevin Rooney. Both also got majors for fighting and Kreider received a misconduct.

“The guys helped a lot,” Georgiev said. “Even when the other team had a five-minute stretch of power play, we didn’t let them have too much zone time.”

The Rangers took advantage on the Devils’ opportunity once again. Fast converted a pass from Jacob Trouba on a 3-on-1 rush at 5:52 for his third of the season.

Skjei added an empty-netter with 2:42 left.

When the Devils did get shots on goal at even strength, Georgiev was there to make the save.

The Devils outshot the Rangers 11-7 in a tight first period. Travis Zajac had a shot hit the goalpost less than two minutes in, and Lemieux did the same on a rebound of a shot by Trouba a couple minutes later.

Fox got the Rangers on the scoreboard on a power play. He got a cross-ice pass from Kaapo Kakko from the right side near the boards to the left side of the goal and quickly put it past Blackwood for his fifth with 7:15 left in the first.

NOTES: New York F Filip Chytil, a first-round pick in 2017, played in his 100th career game. ... Fox has two goals and four assists in his last seven games. ... Devils F Jack Hughes was out with a lower-body injury, missing what would have been his second meeting against the Rangers and Kakko - who went No. 2 in this year’s NHL draft after New Jersey selected Hughes with the first pick. Hughes, who was injured when he took a shot off his leg on Thursday at Montreal, has four goals and seven assists in 24 games. Kakko has six goals and five assists in 22 games. ... Rooney returned to the lineup in Hughes’ place after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. ... New Jersey was shut out for the fourth time this season.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Vegas on Monday night.

Devils: At Buffalo on Monday night.

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Rangers vs Golden Knights: Rangers Go Down Early and Fall 4-1 to Vegas

Following a convincing win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon, the New York Rangers just weren’t ready from the opening puck drop and fell 4-1 to Vegas. The Vegas Golden Knights struck early in this game with a pair of goals, and added another pair in the second period to jump out to a commanding 4-0 lead. Brendan Lemieux added a goal of his own late in the second period, but that would as close as the Rangers would come in this game.

1st Period

Alex Tuch (3) - Jonathan Marchessault (13) & Brayden McNabb (4) - 1:34 1st Period

A little over a minute after the opening faceoff, Vegas caught a bit of a lucky break after Alex Tuch’s wrist shot fell in behind Henrik Lundqvist. As the puck was rolling towards the goal line, Tony DeAngelo reached back in an attempt to trap the puck under Lundqvist’s pad. Unfortunately, it was just a second too late as the puck just barely slipped over the line as Lundqvist and DeAngelo attempted to make a play on it. The initial call on the ice was no goal, but after a quick review, the call was reversed and Vegas jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

Alex Tuch (4) PPG - Nate Schmidt (9) & William Karlsson (16) - 3:50 1st Period

It didn’t take Alex Tuch very long to get on the score sheet once again and he picked up his second goal of the night just about two minutes later. Nate Schmidt was able to make a beautiful cross-ice feed over to Tuch as they broke into the zone, and Tuch slammed home his fourth of the season.

2nd Period

Reilly Smith (12) - Unassisted - 4:44 2nd Period

New York’s deficit went from bad to worse early in the third period as a self inflicted turnover led to a breakaway goal for Reilly Smith. An ill-advised pass by Brett Howden at the blue line handcuffed Brady Skjei, who wound up being the last person back on the rush. With Jacob Trouba already in the zone, Reilly Smith stripped the puck and broke in all alone from the red line and tapped home his 12th of the season.

Max Pacioretty (10) PPG - Cody Glass (6) & Mark Stone (13) - 6:20 2nd Period

Vegas continued to swarm the Rangers in their own zone and eventually drew a hi-sticking penalty on Kaapo Kakko in the offensive zone. Vegas made quick work of the Rangers on the power play as Cody Glass sent a rocket of a pass over to Max Pacioretty on the far side of the ice. Pacioretty immediately fired a one-timer on net and slipped the puck between the post and Henrik Lundqvist’s left leg pad.

Brendan Lemieux (4) - Jacob Trouba (11) & Mika Zibanejad (9) - 15:15 2nd Period

Brendan Lemieux finally stopped the bleeding for the Rangers late in the second period as he redirected home his fourth of the season. Jacob Trouba made an excellent play to slip down from his right point spot and rifled a pass right at Lemieux’s stick. Lemieux opened up his blade just enough and redirected the puck just under crossbar to get the Rangers on the board.

Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Rangers would come in this game and they were defeated 4-1 in regulation. The Rangers didn’t play terrible during the middle part of this game, but giving up two quick goals in the opening minutes of this game certainly didn’t help the cause. Following tonight’s loss, the Rangers will have two days off before traveling to Ohio for a meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday evening.

Panarin leads Rangers to 3-2 over Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Artemi Panarin dazzled once again in Columbus. This time he was playing for the New York Rangers.

Panarin scored the decisive goal in his return to Ohio, leading the Rangers to a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

''He's a big-game player regardless of what's going on,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said of Panarin, whose goal was his team leading 13th, and 34th point overall. ''He usually delivers statistically and he delivered the big one tonight.''

Panarin left Columbus after signing a lucrative free-agent contract in the offseason with New York and heard it from the somewhat jilted pro Blue Jackets crowd.

''It was a great few years for me with the team and in the city. I enjoy,'' Panarin said. ''But real angry (anger) in the game from the fans, but that's okay.''

Serenaded with boos nearly every time he touched the puck, Panarin was cheered during a first-period video tribute that acknowledged his contributions during two seasons in Columbus, a gesture from fans that he told reporters that he appreciated. During his tenure, Panarin was often electric in making plays and putting the puck in the net, twice setting the franchise record for points in a season, including 87 last season.

Brendan Lemieux and Jacob Trouba also scored for New York. The Rangers improved to 5-1-1 over their past seven games. Backup goalie Alexander Georgiev was impressive in making a season-high 45 saves, bailing out a shaky defensive performance in front of him.

''If we're going to have any success, we've got to be committed to playing defense and we weren't committed in that area at all tonight,'' Quinn said.

Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones scored for Columbus, which struggled offensively in a third straight loss. Joonas Korpisalo made 16 saves.

So far this season, Columbus has missed Panarin's offensive spark. The Blue Jackets entered play next-to-last in the NHL in goals scored.

Early on, it seemed as if the Blue Jackets were primed for a breakout. They hit a few posts and Georgiev was sharp. The Rangers were outshot 18-6, but escaped the first period tied 1-1.

''It was all about Georgie tonight, that's for sure,'' Quinn said.

A linemate of Panarin's during a career-best 41-goal outburst but struggling this season, Atkinson started the scoring. Gliding into the zone, he let go a shot from between the circles, beating Georgiev between the legs at 12:43 for his fifth goal, and second in 18 games.

At the tail end of the period, Lemieux snapped a shot past Korpisalo on a centering pass from behind the net from Mika Zibanejad for his fifth at 19:52.

''Give up a goal in the last minute,'' Columbus coach John Tortorella said. ''We just don't have any room for error.''

In the second period with the Rangers on the power play, Panarin nearly scored on a one-timer from the off wing, but Korpisalo stretched his right pad for the stop. Seconds later, Trouba, from nearly the same spot, scored at 5:46, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead on only nine shots.

New York made it 3-1 at 15:32 after a defensive breakdown on a missed Rangers shot left Panarin alone in front for an easy score into an open net.

''We had plenty of opportunities to score goals, we just didn't bury them,'' Columbus captain Nick Foligno said. ''I like seeing that. The thing I don't like is the lull in our game right now that we get when we allow a team to hang around and get a couple on us.''

In the third period, Jones pulled Columbus within one on a nice individual effort for his fourth at 3:33. He spun past Pavel

Buchnevich at the blue line and eluded two more Rangers in front before scoring.

The Rangers closed it out short-handed with Brady Skjei in the penalty box for tripping Gustav Nyquist with 2:10 to play. Once again it was Georgiev holding his ground. He turned aside a long shot by Pierre-Luc Dubois through traffic, then stopped Oliver Bjorkstrand with a glove save on the rebound finishing the period with 18 saves.

''In a situation like that, you're thinking nothing more than kill this and win the game,'' Zibanejad said.

NOTES: New York president John Davidson, who joined the Rangers in the offseason from Columbus, received a video tribute during the first period. He served as the Blue Jackets' president of hockey operations for seven seasons. ... Panarin signed a seven-year, $81 million contract with the Rangers. In two seasons with Columbus, he registered 169 points (55 goals, 114 assists) in 160 games. He recorded the two highest single-season assists and points totals in franchise history (59 assists in 2018-19 and 55 assists in 2017-19; 87 points in 2018-19 and 82 points in 2017-18). ... Blue Jackets D Andrew Peeke, drafted 34th overall in 2016, made his NHL debut. ... Nick Foligno recorded his 300th career point on Atkinson's goal. ... Columbus C Riley Nash played his 500th career game. ... Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella coached his 1,485th game, tying Darryl Sutter for 14th all-time in the NHL. ... Rangers D Libor Hajek injured his knee in the first period and did not return.

UP NEXT:

Columbus: At the Florida Panthers against former netminder Sergei Bobrovksy on Saturday.

Rangers: Host the Montreal Canadians on Friday.

Thompson scores late in 3rd, Canadiens beat Rangers 2-1

NEW YORK (AP) The Montreal Canadiens are hoping their season is back on track.

After suffering eight straight losses, Friday night's 2-1 win over the New York Rangers gave Montreal two victories in their last three games, and something to build on.

Nate Thompson scored the winner with 67 seconds left in the third period. Leading a Canadiens break, Nick Cousins had a shot blocked but found the 35-year-old veteran to set up his first goal since Nov. 9. The Montreal bench jumped to their feet in celebration.

"We wanted to go after them," Thompson said. "They made a push. We just found a way and Carey made big saves in key moments."

Carey Price made 29 saves and improved to 7-2-0 in his last nine games at Madison Square Garden. Brendan Gallagher also scored for the Canadiens. The win lifts Montreal into second place in the Atlantic Division.

"We are playing better on our side of the puck" Price said. "It's all about commitment and we have to stick with that. It's baby steps. Right now, we just have to focus on the next one."

Brendan Smith scored for the Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev made 31 saves in his second straight start in place of Henrik Lundqvist, who was feeling under the weather. He started on back-to-back nights for just the fourth time in his career.

The loss was the Rangers' 17th in their last 23 games against the Canadiens since the start of 2013.

"It was two teams that looked like they played last night," David Quinn said. "Unfortunately we were the first team to blink, 59 minutes into the game."

When the teams met in Montreal on Nov. 23, they played an instant classic. The Canadiens led 4-0 before the Rangers stormed back to win 6-5. There was far less scoring Friday night. Smith tied the game at 1-all early in the second period, capitalizing on a turnover by Otto Leskinen and scoring on a breakaway. Leskinen was playing in just his second career game, having made his NHL debut the previous night. Montreal's penalty kill, which entered the night ranked 29th in the league at 75%, killed off two penalties committed by Ben Chiarot in the final seven minutes of the second period.

"We played a solid road game," Claude Julien said. "The Rangers are a good transition team and we made adjustments. The guys did what they had to do. It was a hard-fought game."

The teams exchanged chances in the opening five minutes, with the best opportunity falling to Mika Zibanejad, whose shot from the left wing was saved by Price. Gallagher scored the game's first goal a little more than halfway through the first period, with Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar earning assists. Gallagher has scored in three straight games.

"We came here with urgency," Tatar said. "Every line chipped in. We played a good game. It was a huge game for us."

The Rangers nearly tied the game less than 30 seconds later, as Shea Weber blocked Ryan Strome's shot. Weber was bloodied after the puck hit him in the mouth, but remained in the game.

NOTES: Jesperi Kotkaniemi didn't play after suffering a concussion Thursday night against the Avalanche. He was replaced by Charles Hudon. ... Marc Staal played for the first time since suffering an ankle injury on Nov. 7. Staal took the spot of Libor Hajek, who is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks after sustaining a sprained knee during Thursday night's game in Columbus. ... The Rangers scratched Micheal Haley. ... The Canadiens scratched Mike Reilly and Christian Folin. ... New York assigned Boo Nieves to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League on Friday.

UP NEXT:

Canadiens: At Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Rangers: Open a four-game trip at Vegas on Sunday.

Georgiev stifles Golden Knights in Rangers’ 5-0 win

LAS VEGAS (AP) Playing behind Henrik Lundqvist, the fifth-winningest goalie in NHL history, backup Alexandar Georgiev knows he has to be on his game as well.

Georgiev stopped 38 shots for his second shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-0 on Sunday night.

''He's been playing great, and I know I have to play really good hockey to get playing time,'' Georgiev said.

Georgiev, who recorded his first shutout of the season at New Jersey on Nov. 30, was making his fourth start in five games. It was the 23-year-old's fourth career shutout.

Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider scored 14 seconds apart in the first period, Jacob Trouba and Jesper Fast tallied second-period goals and Mika Zibanejad put the game to bed in the third period.

''Really fast team, and the building gave them a lot of energy,'' Georgiev said. ''I was just trying to weather the storm, and the guys came up big with the first goal, and then the second right away. We started playing better as the game went on.''

The Golden Knights had 70.8 % of the game's high-danger chances (17-7), but staked with an early lead, Georgiev was spectacular in shutting down one of the league's fastest teams.

While Lundqvist has 456 wins, Georgiev has a mere 26 in his short career but has looked every bit like a veteran.

''It's definitely a luxury to have two goalies,'' said Zibanejad, who has registered a point in each of his six career games against the Golden Knights. ''The trust level is very high on both of them. Obviously we lean on them quite a bit, so we try to make their lives as easy as possible, but there comes times when we have a dip in the game, and they've been stepping up, and that's huge. That's what you need.''

Georgiev has stopped 169 of the last 174 shots he has faced (.971 save-percentage) over his last five appearances. He has made 30 or more saves in 10 of his 13 starts this season, including each of his last five. He has also allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his last 10 appearances.

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, hadn't been shutout since last Feb. 18 at Colorado. They came into the game with at least one goal in 52 consecutive regulation games, the third longest active streak behind Boston (84 games) and Florida (56).

Malcolm Subban, making his seventh straight start for Vegas, made 20 saves. The Golden Knights had their five-game point streak snapped as they dropped to 7-6-3 at home this season.

The game didn't come without a bit of controversy, though, as the Golden Knights lost rookie Cody Glass late in the second with the Rangers leading 4-0.

Brendan Lemieux came crashing into the 20-year-old with a spinning elbow to the temple that left Vegas' first-ever draft pick on his knees writhing in pain. Glass had to be helped off the ice and to the locker room.

While the 18,236 in attendance appeared ready for Vegas bruiser Ryan Reaves to make Lemieux answer for the hit, it was linemate William Carrier who dropped his gloves and called the Rangers' forward out.

''We all saw what happened, and it can't happen,'' Carrier said. ''I don't know if he did it on purpose, but he's gotta answer to it. Same for me when I do those kinds of hits. Just gotta answer to it and he did.''

Kreider was fined $5,000 last season for an elbow on Vancouver's Elias Pettersson, which was almost identical to the one thrown by Lemieux on Glass. Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said he is hoping the NHL's Department of Player Safety will review Lemieux ''flying elbow to his head'' and rule on what he called ''a bad hit.''

NOTES: Gallant said with just only practice since returning to the team after his father died, starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury needed more time before returning to the net. ... Donning a Golden Knights jersey, country music star Shania Twain cranked the pregame siren just before puck drop. ... Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Rangers have posted a 48-21-10 record in 79 games against teams in the Pacific Division. ... Lemieux played in his 100th career game.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Play the second of their four-game road trip in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Dustin Brown, Tyler Toffoli and Adrian Kempe scored goals, and Jonathan Quick was dominating in the net as the Los Angeles Kings returned home Tuesday to earn a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers and end a four-game losing streak.

Quick made 29 saves and earned his first win since Nov. 27 against the New York Islanders. He lost his shutout with 30 seconds remaining when Artemi Panarin scored for the Rangers on the power play. It was Panarin's team-high 15th of the season.

Kempe sealed the victory for the Kings by scoring an empty-net goal with 15 seconds remaining, his fourth.

Henrik Lundqvist had 23 saves for the Rangers, who saw their three-game road winning streak come to end after entering 6-2-1 in their past nine games. The Rangers narrowly avoided their first shutout loss of the season.

The Kings won at home for the third time in their past four tries, but the road is where issues still need to be addressed. After defeats at Edmonton and Calgary on the most recent road trip, the Kings have lost 11 consecutive (0-10-1) away from Los Angeles.

The Kings' comfort on home ice showed up early when they played even with the Rangers in the opening period despite getting outshot 14-11. They finally took a 1-0 lead with 11 seconds remaining before the first intermission when a flurry of shots on Lundqvist ended with Brown's seventh goal of the season.

Los Angeles took charge in the second period, pushing the lead to 2-0 at the 13:22 mark when Toffoli scored his seventh. Lundqvist couldn't keep a handle on Matt Roy's hard shot from the point, and Toffoli flipped the loose puck into the net.

The Kings' defense held the Rangers to five shots on goal in the second period.

The Kings will get to put an end to their road losing streak with a six-game trip that starts Thursday at Anaheim and ends Dec. 21 at Buffalo. The Rangers play at San Jose on Thursday and conclude their tour of California at Anaheim on Saturday.

Rangers spoil Boughner's debut with 6-3 win over Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Mika Zibanejad scored the tying and go-ahead goals in less than five minutes during the third period and the New York Rangers spoiled interim coach Bob Boughner's debut with San Jose by beating the Sharks 6-3 on Thursday night.

Artemi Panarin added two insurance goals, including an empty-netter, to give him his first hat trick with New York. Jesper Fast also scored and Alexandar Georgiev made 15 saves to help the Rangers win for the seventh time in 11 games.

Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Brenden Dillon scored for San Jose but it wasn't enough to end a losing streak that stretched to six games. Martin Jones made 24 saves.

This recent skid led to the decision by general manager Doug Wilson to fire Peter DeBoer for his first midseason coaching change in more than 16 years in charge in San Jose.

The Sharks seemed in position to get the spark Wilson was seeking when Dillon ended his 106-game stretch without a goal by scoring the tiebreaker early in the third.

But Zibanejad tied it when he scored on a power play with 11:11 to play after Barclay Goodrow was called for tripping, and then gave the Rangers the lead with 6:50 to go when he beat Jones from the left circle after San Jose had trouble clearing the puck from the defensive zone.

Panarin added his second with 3:11 left, shortly after San Jose failed to capitalize on a power play.

The day started with the Sharks formally introducing Boughner as their new interim coach a day after firing DeBoer less than seven months after he led San Jose to the Western Conference Final.

Boughner implemented a couple of changes, including playing Joe Thornton and Hertl on a line together, before heading out for his first game in charge in San Jose.

The Sharks ended a four-game stretch without holding a lead when Hertl scored a short-handed goal when he opted to shoot on an odd-man rush midway through the first after Jones made a good stop on Zibanejad.

San Jose nearly added to that lead on the power play when Brent Burns' point shot hit the post, then bounced off Georgiev and was trickling toward the goal line when Marc Staal cleared it just before it crossed.

The Rangers scored twice in the second period to take the lead, with Filip Chytil setting up Fast in the slot after skating around Dylan Gambrell and then Ryan Strome setting up Panarin for his 16th of the season.

Couture tied it for San Jose a few minutes later off a pass from Timo Meier.

NOTES: Thornton played in his 1,600th game. Sharks teammate Patrick Marleau has played 1,687 games and they are the first teammates in NHL history to play in the same game with each having at least 1,600 regular-season games to their credit. ... Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux missed the game after getting banged up Tuesday in Los Angeles.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

Ducks beat Rangers in shootout after Lindholm ties it late

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Trailing after 10 seconds and down 2-0 not even four minutes into their game against the New York Rangers, it would have been easy for the Anaheim Ducks to call it a day.

But the Ducks found the form that has sustained them this season, using it and a power play that finally seems to be clicking to get a big comeback win.

Hampus Lindholm tied the game on the power play with 1:46 remaining in the third period, Jakob Silfverberg and Ondrej Kase scored in the shootout, and the Ducks rallied for a 4-3 win over the Rangers on Saturday.

“You don’t want to start 2-0 down,” Lindholm said. “It would be nice to have a 2-0 lead to start a game, too, but we’ve playing some good hockey. Over 60 minutes, if you just stick with it, you’re going to get some chances.”

Silfverberg had a power-play goal, Erik Gudbranson also scored, and Rickard Rakell had three assists to tie a career high for the Ducks. John Gibson stopped three shots in the shootout after making 29 saves through overtime.

Mika Zibanejad had two goals for the second straight game and Artemi Panarin scored for the fourth consecutive game, and the Rangers still have not won consecutive games this month.

Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves, but the Rangers ended up going 2-1-1 on their four-game road trip.

“We wanted six points, but I guess taking five isn’t a bad trip,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “You can’t do what everybody else is doing if you want to do something special.”

The Ducks allowed two goals in the opening 3:59, with Zibanejad giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead 10 seconds into the game. Zibanejad intercepted a pass by Josh Manson and beat Gibson with a backhand.

Panarin made it 2-0 at 3:59 with his sixth goal during his scoring streak, which came on a wrist shot from the left circle. Ryan Strome picked off the puck after Gibson played it behind his own net and fed Panarin for his sixth goal in the past four games.

However, the Ducks stayed committed to their game and got on the board when Silfverberg tipped Lindholm’s shot from the left point in at 8:53 to pull within 2-1.

“We were able to have a good chat as a team during the first timeout, but, like, not one little bit of frustration or panic or anything,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said “And I think that’s a great, great sign for our team.”

Anaheim tied it up at 2-all 1:02 into the second when Gudbranson scored into an open net. Lundqvist over-committed to a sharp-angle shot by Adam Henrique that deflected off a stick and out to Gudbranson at the point.

Zibanejad put the Rangers back in front 3-2 at 1:14 of the third. Tony DeAngelo found Zibanejad with a stretch pass to start a rush, and Gibson could not smother a wobbly wrist shot that went between his legs for Zibanejad’s third multi-goal game of the season.

But the Ducks responded again and Lindholm made it 3-all at 18:14 from the high slot just as Gibson was making his way toward the bench for the extra attacker with Brady Skjei in the box for tripping.

Anaheim was 2 for 4 on the power play. It was their third straight game with a power-play goal, and the Ducks are 4 for 10 in that span with the man-advantage.

“We’re not going to have a parade yet on it,” Eakins said. “I still think we got lots of work to do there, but kudos to those young men. They’ve really taken a real interest in it. They’re working together for their own solutions on top of ours, and that’s important. And great to see our team get rewarded by it tonight because we certainly needed it.”

It was the third time in the past 13 games the Rangers allowed multiple power-play goals. New York has killed just 5 of 11 penalties (45.5 percent) in those three games, but are 33 of 34 in the other 10.

“It’s unfortunate when we struggle on the PK it seems to come in bunches within a game,” Quinn said.

NOTES: Silfverberg extended his point streak to four games. … Rakell has five points in the past four games. … Rangers D Libor Hajek missed his fifth straight game because of a sprained knee.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Nashville on Monday night.

Josi, Saros lead Predators to 4-2 win over Rangers

NEW YORK (AP) Coming off back-to-back losses, the Nashville Predators came through with a strong defensive effort and some timely goals to get a needed win.

Roman Josi had two goals and an assist, Juuse Saros stopped 39 shots, and the Predators beat the New York Rangers 5-2 Monday night.

Rocco Grimaldi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis also scored to help the Predators win for the third time in five games.

''We did a bit of soul-searching and tonight was a good step in the right direction,'' Ellis said. ''We need to continue that. ... It was just a complete game.''

Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 19 saves for the Rangers, losers of three of their last five (2-2-1).

''They're a good hockey team,'' said the Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, who had two assists. ''You can't really give them anything. They take advantage of that and that's what they did today.''

The Rangers went 0 for 4 on the power play, with Saros stopping all 11 shots during the man advantages.

''We had to defend a lot, so we did some good things out there,'' Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. ''Juuse was good in net.''

Nashville was outshot 15-8 in the first period and 13-7 in the second but scored twice in the middle period to take a 3-1 lead heading to the third.

With the score tied at 1 after 20 minutes, Panarin nearly gave the Rangers the lead early in the second period. His shot hit a goalpost, and the spinning puck dropped on the goal line but didn't cross it. The no-goal was confirmed by a review.

Panarin also had a shot hit the left post about seven minutes into the middle period.

''They had some chances - that one was dancing on our goal line - and they had some more chances,'' Ekholm said. ''Playing good defense and capitalizing on our chances was huge.''

Josi gave the Predators their second lead. He brought the puck up the right side, skated into the right circle and fired a shot between the legs of defenseman Adam Fox and past Georgiev for his eighth with 9:44 remaining in the period.

Just after a cross-checking penalty expired on Ekholm, the defenseman joined the play, brought the puck up the right side, skated toward the middle and beat Georgiev into the top left corner for his fifth with 3:37 left in the second.

Kyle Turris hit a goalpost for Nashville 7 1/2 minutes into the third, and Saros made a nice stop on Zibanejad's shot from the right side midway through the period to keep it a two-goal game.

Panarin pulled the Rangers within one as he got a pass from Zibanejad and fired it past Saros for his 20th with 2:42 left.

However, Josi sealed it with an empty-netter 53 seconds later for his second of the night and ninth of the season. Ellis added another empty-netter in the closing seconds.

''Our overall effort was huge,'' Ekholm said. ''We've got to step it up and this was a real big step for us.''

Grimaldi got the Predators on the scoreboard first. On a rush with Josi, Grimaldi brought the puck up the left side, went toward the middle and fired a shot that went off the shin of Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei and trickled past Georgiev for his fourth with 9:24 left in the opening period.

The Rangers tied it just 34 seconds later when Zibanejad brought the puck up the middle off a turnover, crossed the blue line and passed left to Kreider, who quickly beat Saros for his eighth.

Skjei had a chance to get the Rangers the lead with about five minutes left, but his attempts in front where stopped by Saros. New York was also stopped on several tries in front about 90 seconds later.

NOTES: Zibanejad has five points (four goals, one assist) in a three-game point streak. ... Kreider has two goals and three assists in his last five games. ... Panarin snapped a four-game point streak in which he had six goals and two assists. ... Predators F Victor Arvidsson, recovering from a lower body injury sustained on Nov 23, skated with the team and could be ready to return by the end of the four-game trip. ... Grimaldi has three goals and six points in his last 10 games. ... Josi got his first goals since he had two against Chicago on Nov. 16.

UP NEXT

Predators: At the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Rangers: Host Toronto on Friday night,

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The New York Rangers dropped their third straight game this evening against the Toronto Maple Leafs. New York allowed three goals in the third period after being tying the game twice through 40 minutes. Alexandar Georgiev got the nod in goal for the Rangers and he turned away 34 of the 40 shots he faced during the game.

1st Period

Peter Engvall (2) - Justin Holl (10) & Ilya Mikeyev (14) - 9:38 1st Period

Toronto didn’t waste much time exposing the Rangers defense early in this game, and jumped out to a 1-0 lead just over nine minutes into regulation. Peter Engvall and Justin Holl created the chance with a great give-and-go from the right point spot. Engvall received a great pass back from Holl as he entered the high slot, pivoted to his left and sniped a shot under the crossbar.

William Nylander (12) - Kasperi Kapanen (11) - 11:52 1st Period

About two minutes after Peter Engvall’s opening marker, the Maple Leafs quickly added another goal and took a 2-0 lead in this game. Another pass from behind the net by Alexandar Georgiev wound up skipping over Mika Zibanejad’s stick and went right to Kasperi Kapanen. Kapanen shoveled a shot on net with Georgiev still not fully reset in his crease, and William Nylander capitalized on the rebound in front to pick up his 12th goal of the season.

Brady Skjei (5) - Mika Zibanejad (13) & Chris Kreider (11) - 14:04 1st Period

New York finally got on the board at the 14:04 mark of the period as Brady Skjei’s move in front of the net slipped through Frederik Andersen. A strong forecheck by Chris Kreider created the chance as he redirected a pass over to Mika Zibanejad in the high slot. Zibanejad elected to make the extra pass with space at the top of the crease and Brady Skjei got the last touch on the puck before it crossed the goal line.

Ryan Strome (7) - Artemiy Panarin (24) & Pavel Buchnevich (15) - 17:51 1st Period

The Rangers continued their strong forecheck in the offensive zone, and it led directly to the tying goal late in the first period. Pavel Buchnevich was able to cause some chaos behind Toronto’s net and chipped a pass out front to Artemiy Panarin. The Breadman was able draw Frederik Andersen to the post and fed a no-look pass over to Ryan Strome on the far side to knot up the game.

2nd Period

Mitchell Marner (7) PPG - Austin Matthews (16) & William Nylander (14) - 2:50 2nd Period

Toronto jumped back in front early in the first period as Mitchell Marner converted on the power play for his seventh goal of the season. After receiving a pass from Austin Matthews, Marner cycled down the left side of the ice and threw a hard, low shot on net looking for the deflection. He wound up getting a deflection, but it came off of some friendly fire as the puck hit Brady Skjei’s stick and deflected in over Alexandar Georgiev.

Pavel Buchnevich (6) - Marc Staal (3) & Tony DeAngelo (17) - 5:27 2nd Period

Thankfully, the Rangers responded a little under three minutes later and tied the game for the second time of the night. Pavel Buchnevich, much like Ryan Strome, was riding an extended goal drought and finally snapped his streak to pick up his sixth goal of the season. This goal wasn’t much of a finesse goal but more of being in the right spot at the right time and getting the puck on net. Buchnevich was able to pick up the rebound generated by Marc Staal and beat Andersen through the legs to make it a 3-3 game.

3rd Period

William Nylander (13) - Austin Matthews (17) & Travis Dermott (3) - 2:10 3rd Period

Just two minutes into the third period, the Maple Leafs were able to catch the Rangers in transition and took their third lead of the evening. Austin Matthews started the 3-on-2 rush into the Rangers zone and immediately dished the puck over to William Nylander as they crossed the blue line. Nylander wound up for a wrist shot inside the right faceoff circle and snapped a shot through Georgiev’s legs.

Mitchell Marner (8) - Unassisted - 2:57 3rd Period

Mitchell Marner was able to make the Rangers pay again under a minute later after he forced the Rangers into another turnover. Ryan Strome’s attempted pass back was picked off by Marner along the boards, and he made a quick move to the middle of the ice. Just as a defender was ready to close in on him, Marner snapped a shot and beat Georgiev on the far side of the net.

Ilya Mikheyev (7) - Alexander Kerfoot (6) - 16:23 3rd Period

Lackluster play in the neutral zone wound up haunting the Rangers yet again, and Toronto added another insurance marker to make it a three-goal lead. Brett Howden wound up whiffing on the puck in the neutral zone, and the puck slipped right through to Ilya Mikheyev entering the zone. Another high shot beat Georgiev over the glove hand, and Mikheyev closed out the scoring for the Maple Leafs.

The Rangers played well in this game through the first 40 minutes and were able to comeback from two deficits. Unfortunately, they were not ready for Toronto’s attack in the third period and were burned for three goals. Following tonight’s loss, the Rangers will have a scheduled off day tomorrow before returning to action on Sunday afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks.

Kreider scores twice as Rangers topple Ducks

NEW YORK (AP) The Rangers took advantage of a weary and injury-depleted Ducks team.

Chris Kreider scored twice, and New York beat Anaheim 5-1 on Sunday, ending a three-game skid..

''If we can continue to do that and be hard to play against, especially down low in front of net, we will have success,'' Kreider said. ''We're building more of an identity as a group.''

Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, while Filip Chytil and Brett Howden also scored for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves.

''We did a lot of good things,'' Lundqvist said. ''We had a good start and our focus was better.''

Sam Steel scored for the Ducks, who were playing the finale of a four-game trip, and Ryan Miller made 36 saves.

Anaheim was missing its three leading scorers, with Rickard Rakell (upper-body injury), Ryan Getzlaf (flu), and Jakob Silfverberg (flu) all sitting out.

When these teams faced each other last Saturday in Anaheim, the Ducks rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 down to win 4-3 in a shootout.

Defenseman Korbinian Holzer, playing out of position as a forward because of the Ducks' depleted lineup, committed the game's first penalty, high-sticking just 1:33 into the first period. Pavel Buchnevich had the Rangers' best chance on the ensuing power play, but was unable to find the net with a backhand.

Chytil opened the scoring for the Rangers, beating Miller with a backhand shot from the right side 7:14 into the first. Howden doubled New York's lead 91 seconds later, firing the rebound of Tony DeAngelo's shot into an open net. Both Chytil (10 games) and Howden (15) ended significant goal droughts.

''I like the pace of our game,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''We weren't slowed down. We had to set the tone. And we were shooting pucks, that was helpful.''

The Ducks made it 2-1 just before the midpoint of the first. Ondrej Kase's shot was saved by Lundqvist, but Steel batted the rebound out of the air and into the net.

Kreider restored the Rangers' two-goal lead a few minutes later. With the teams playing 4-on-4 after matching roughing penalties to Max Comtois and Ryan Lindgren, Kreider beat Josh Manson on a breakaway and went around Miller for his seventh point in his past seven games.

Erik Gudbranson, playing in his 500th game, was sent to the penalty box for tripping near the end of the first period, but the Rangers were again unable to convert their power play. New York finished 0-for-5 on the man advantage, leaving it without a power-play goal in four games.

Kreider scored his second goal of the game with just under four minutes remaining in the second period. Zibanejad picked up an assist, extending his point streak to five games.

''Kreider has elevated his game for sure,'' Quinn said.

The game turned physical in the second period. The teams took another set of matching roughing penalties as well as a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Gudbranson and Brendan Lemieux were both given 10-minute misconducts. Gudbranson earned his after dropping his gloves in an attempt to fight Lemieux, but at 4 inches shorter, Lemieux declined to join him. By the time the second period ended, 36 total penalty minutes had been handed out.

''We're not going to take anything laying down, that's for sure,'' Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. ''That's a testament to our dressing room, high-character guys.''

Zibanejad increased New York's lead to 5-1 just over a minute into the third period, beating Miller from a tight angle during a Ducks power play. It was his third short-handed goal of the season, tying Carolina's Sebastian Aho and Ottawa's Jean-Gabriel Pageau for most in the NHL.

''We controlled the game,'' Brady Skjei said. ''It was good to see. This was a huge two points for us.''

Micheal Haley and Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves early in the third. Anaheim and New York entered Sunday each having taken 15 major penalties this season, tied for most in the league.

Chytil appeared to injure his knee after losing his balance and falling into the boards during the third period, but returned to the game.

NOTES: Daniel Sprong was recalled from the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League and made his season debut for Anaheim. ... Kaapo Kakko did not play after blocking a shot off his skate laces during Friday's game against Toronto. ... Haley was in the lineup, while Howden moved to the wing despite primarily playing as a center.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Christmas Break, then the host Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

Rangers: At the Philadelphia Flyers Monday night.

Hayes, Sanheim lead Flyers past Rangers 5-1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Philadelphia center Kevin Hayes and coach Alain Vigneault shared a smile during a morning meeting in anticipation of playing against their former team for the first time. They had even more reason to smile afterward.

Hayes scored a pair of goals to lead Vigneault and the Flyers to their fourth straight victory, 5-1 over the New York Rangers on Monday night.

Hayes played 361 games over five seasons for the Rangers before being dealt to Winnipeg at the trade deadline last season. The Flyers acquired Hayes in June for a fifth-round pick and then signed the center to a seven-year, $50 million deal.

''He's been wound up for this game for a while,'' Vigneault said. ''He's a very emotional young man and scored two big goals for us.''

Vigneault led the Rangers to a 226-147-37 mark, four postseason appearances and the 2014 Stanley Cup Final in five seasons at the helm in New York before being fired on April 7, 2018. His tenure included Hayes' first four seasons.

''I'm sure it meant more to Kevin,'' Vigneault said of the matchup.

Hayes put the Flyers ahead 2-1 with 12:29 left when he snapped a wrist shot past Henrik Lundqvist's glove side. His second of the night came with 2:45 left when he deked from his backhand to his forehand from close range to beat Lundqvist.

''Doesn't really matter personally,'' Hayes said. ''It's nice to get goals, but the main goal was to get two points tonight. . It means a little bit more, nothing too serious. It was a fun game.''

Jesper Fast scored for New York, which has dropped four of five. The Rangers surrendered the final five goals, including four in the last 12:29.

''We sell out too much for offense and it's killing us,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said.

Quinn also was miffed with New York's continued ineptitude on the man advantage. The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play, including failing to convert during a 5-on-3 that lasted more than a minute in the first period, and they haven't connected in their last 18 chances.

''It's a team-wide problem,'' Quinn said. ''Every time we get it, we slow it down and look to make a pretty play.''

He said changes to the power play would be forthcoming.

Travis Sanheim also scored two goals and added an assist and Nicolas Aube-Kubel netted his first career goal for Philadelphia, which improved to 13-2-4 at home. The Flyers entered tied with the Islanders for best home winning percentage.

Sanheim notched his second to make it a two-goal contest with just over four minutes remaining. Travis Konecny fanned on Sean Couturier's pass and the puck found its way to a wide-open Sanheim, who shot into the vacated net.

The Rangers were playing the second game of a back-to-back after beating Anaheim 5-1 on Sunday in New York. Lundqvist stopped 19 of 20 shots against the Ducks and made 25 saves against the Flyers but gave up four goals in the final 12:29. The veteran made several excellent saves in the first two periods and a ten-bell stop with his left pad and glove on Morgan Frost's one-timer with 10:36 left in the second.

The Flyers finally beat Lundqvist with 1.7 seconds left in the second when Sanheim's wrist shot from the slot went off Lundqvist's stick and through his legs.

''Momentum, energy-wise, that gave us a boost,'' Vigneault said.

Fast got the Rangers on the board first with a short-handed tally, his sixth of the season, 6:44 into the second.

NOTES: Philadelphia's Michael Raffl (finger) missed his seventh straight contest and Scott Laughton (groin) sat for the fourth consecutive game. . This was the first of four meetings between the teams. They next will play a home-and-home, Feb. 28 in Philadelphia and March 1 in New York, before finishing up April 1 at New York. . Rangers RW Kaapo Kakko (lower body) missed his second straight game. . James van Riemsdyk and Justin Braun each had a pair of assists.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Carolina on Friday.