Kings smother Rangers 6-3 for third win in four games

NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Kings made it three wins in four road games, accomplishing win No. 3 with a decisive 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Six different Kings scored as Los Angeles handed New York it first home loss in seven games this season. Twelve different Kings players also had points, including eight from defensemen. 

"I thought it was really good from start to finish. We played the game fast and made really good decisions,'' Kings coach Peter Laviolette said. "There were alot of positives. To get the whole bench involved was really good."

Taylor Ward scored on a breakaway 75 seconds into his first game of the campaign and defenseman Brandt Clarke scored his second goal in three games less than four minutes later against 38-year-old goaltender James Reimer, who was making his Rangers debut.

Rangers captain J.T. Miller narrowed the deficit at 13:01 before Kings captain Drew Doughty restored the two-goal margin at 17:32 when his blast from the point eluded Reimer. 

It was the first time since starter Igor Shesterkin was injured Oct. 9 and subsequently declared out for season with a lower-body injury that Dylan Garand didn’t start for the Rangers. Reimer had immediate trouble in the crease, allowing three goals on eight shots in the opening stanza before he was pulled in favor of Garand. Ward's goal came on the Kings' first shot on goal, Clarke's goal on their second. 

Former Ranger Artemi Panarin greeted Garand by scoring his team-leading seventh goal at 1:30 of the second on the power play. Panarin played seven seasons for the Rangers, scoring 205 goals in 485 games. 

Panarin’s best season came when current Kings coach Peter Laviolette was coaching New York two seasons ago. Panarin scored a career-high 49 goals and posted a career-best 120 points during a 2023-24 campaign in which New York won 55 times and accrued 114 points. They fell in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

 Los Angeles defenseman Mikey Anderson continued the scoring barrage at 6:54 of the second, extending the lead to 5-1.

Adam Fox, playing his 500th NHL game for the Rangers, made it 5-2 on the power-play at 13:05 of the second. Ty Karyte made it 5-3 at 16:08 of the third before Joel Edmundson completed the scoring with an empty-net goal. 

Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for his third win. He also beat Washington and the New York Islanders earlier on the Kings five-game trip which will conclude on Tuesday in Chicago.

With the victory, Laviolette tied Ken Hitchcock for sixth place on the all-time coaching wins list with 849.

Laviolette reflected before the game on coaching the Rangers for two seasons – the first a Presidents’ Trophy-winning year, the second with a team that slipped to 85 points and missed the playoffs. The Kings are the seventh team Laviolette has coached in 24 seasons behind an NHL bench. 

“It was kind of a tale of two years. The first year was really good, I mean, most wins and most points for a very storied franchise’’ he said of his time in New York. “I'll remember being here in New York. Obviously, the second year was not as smooth and had problems.”

The coach looked ahead to finishing the road trip in Chicago on a high note. 

"It's a big game coming up, (chance at) 4-1 on the road trip. There's a lot to play for tomorrow night,'' he said. "The guys know that and we'll be ready to go."