EditorsNote: Fixed time of goal in 2nd graf, minor edits
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 31 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 an 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 games (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.
--Field Level Media
