Rangers score four goals in third period to beat Golden Knights, 5-1
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mika Zibanejad had two goals and an assist, and the New York Rangers scored three times in 1:54 in the third period to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 on Wednesday night.
New York’s Artemi Panarin reached 600 career points, picking up his milestone point when he found Zibanejad, whose one-timer from the left circle put the Rangers front 2-1 just 5:59 into the third. Panarin reached that number in his 535th game, and only Connor McDavid (421), Sidney Crosby (430), Alex Ovechkin (464) and Evgeni Malkin (490) have gotten there quicker.
The Rangers, who scored four times in the third period, are 7-2-1 in their past 10 road games.
They broke open a 1-all tie with the three-goal onslaught. After Zibanejad scored, Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreiniere added goals in the game-changing stretch. Zibanejad added another score with 8:26 remaining, and he has points in six consecutive games (five goals, four assists).
New York’s scoring backed Igor Shesterkin (12-4), who saved 25 of 26 shots and improved to 12-4.
His counterpart, Logan Thompson, saved 25 of 26 shots through the first two periods before the Rangers began finding the back of the net in the third. Thompson finished with 32 saves on 37 shots.
New York dominated the play in the first period, outshooting the Knights 15-5. The one shot that got through occurred 6:50 in when defenseman K’Andre Miller shot from the point and Kaapo Kakko tipped in the puck.
Vegas (19-8-1) came off a 3-1 road trip, and looked like a team with jet lag. But this wasn’t a one-time thing. The Knights have been outscored at home 14-4 over their last three games.
They also were without leading scorer Jack Eichel for the second straight game because of a lower-body injury.
Vegas played with more energy in the second period, taking advantage of a 5-on-3 power play. Chandler Stephenson, from in front of the net, made a sensational pass to Jonathan Marchessault, who scored from the left side. Marchessault has scored in three consecutive games.
It was just the fifth power-play goal the Rangers have given up.
NOTES
Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore extended his points streak to four games (one goal, four assists). He also has 10 points in 10 games (one goal, nine assists). … Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo missed his fifth consecutive game because of personal reasons. … Rangers coach Gerard Gallant was Vegas’ first coach and led the Knights to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final their first season. He went 118-75-20 over 2 1/2 seasons. … The Knights wore specialty jerseys during warmups as part of Hispanic Heritage Night. The jerseys featured flags from several Hispanic countries.
UP NEXT
Rangers: At the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
Golden Knights: At home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.
Source: Yahoo Sports
