Rangers remain road warriors with 3-0 win at Kings

By DAN GREENSPAN
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) Take the New York Rangers off Broadway and they suddenly know how to shine again.

Derek Stepan scored late in the second period, Antti Raanta made 30 saves for his eighth career shutout and the Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Saturday night.

Ryan McDonagh added a power-play goal and Rick Nash scored an empty-netter for the Rangers, who have won eight of their last 10 road games. During the same stretch, they've lost six straight at Madison Square Garden.

The dramatic difference in performance isn't a coincidence, Nash said.

"You know, at home we always try to make the extra play, we try to make the pretty goal," Nash said. "We get on the road and keep it simple. We don't turn over the puck as much."

Raanta was sharp in his last start before Henrik Lundqvist is set to return from a hip injury, denying Tyler Toffoli and Jonny Brodzinski on breakaways and stuffing Drew Doughty late in the third. Raanta earned his fourth shutout of the season, two more than Lundqvist has in 2016-17.

Knowing a healthy Lundqvist will be the man in net come the postseason, Raanta wanted to address some of the recent flaws in his game, specifically his footwork and movement in the crease. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault liked how Raanta responded to those struggles.

"Well, he no doubt made all the timely saves tonight," Vigneault said. "We had a few turnovers and they got some Grade-A looks and he made the saves."

With Raanta denying the Kings, the Rangers responded with some timely goals on the other end.

McDonagh scored four seconds into a double minor against Andy Andreoff for high-sticking, putting a long shot through Jonathan Quick's legs.

Stepan used some alert positioning to put the Rangers ahead with 6:58 left in the second. Standing at the foot of the crease, Stepan was skating toward the right spot to corral Brendan Smith's shot after it bounced off the boards and he put it in the top netting.

It was Stepan's 14th goal, with Smith notching his first point since being acquired in a trade from Detroit.

While the Rangers are in playoff limbo at the moment, unlikely to secure a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division but in no serious danger of losing the first wild card in the Eastern Conference, they matched the intensity of the desperate Kings in a taut rematch of the 2014 Stanley Cup final.

Quick made 17 saves for the Kings, who dropped nine points behind St. Louis for the second wild card in the Western Conference with eight games to play.

"We're not out. We're still alive," Kings forward Jeff Carter said. "We go into it one game at a time and we've got to run the table."

Los Angeles controlled the start of the game, with Carter snatching a takeaway and taking a wrist shot that was snapped up by Raanta's glove in the first 17 seconds.

New York didn't get a shot on goal in the opening seven minutes but did create the two most dangerous scoring chances in the first. Kevin Hayes elected to shoot during a 2-on-1 break and Quick was able to tuck the puck in his left armpit for the stop. Michael Grabner's breakaway ended with the winger putting his shot over the goalie and net.

Another breakaway by Grabner in the second ended with his shot being stonewalled by Quick, who failed to earn the Kings a point for just the second time in seven home starts since returning from a groin injury.

The Kings were shut out for the 10th time, and haven't scored more than two goals in 38 of 74 games this season.

"When you don't score, you don't win too many games no matter how good your goalie is," Carter said. "He kept us in and we didn't give him any help."

NOTES: Mats Zuccarello had two assists, giving him eight points in his last seven games. ... Brodzinski made his NHL debut, playing 11:07 and taking three shots. ... The Kings are 3-4-2 in their last nine games against teams currently in playoff position, including just one win in regulation. ... Chris Kreider committed three of the Rangers' four penalties, all in an 8:10 span of the third.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Visit the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Kings: Visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.