The Rangers entered the second half of their back‑to‑back set on Tuesday night, facing the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in the midst of a four‑game West Coast road trip. They opened the swing with a 5–3 loss in Anaheim the night before and were looking to rebound quickly.
Head coach Mike Sullivan turned to former Kings legend Jonathan Quick, giving him what may be his final chance to start against his old team. Carson Soucy returned to the lineup, while Vladislav Gavrikov — one of the few consistent bright spots for the Rangers this season — made his first appearance in Los Angeles since leaving the Kings after two seasons. LA, meanwhile, was without two franchise pillars: Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.
Despite those absences, the Kings’ speed and pressure immediately overwhelmed the Rangers. Adrian Kempe scored just 18 seconds into the game, setting an early tone and hinting at a potential rout.
The Rangers answered at 11:42 of the first period when Will Cuylle was credited with a goal off a Scott Morrow shot that slipped through Darcy Kuemper’s pads after deflecting off one of his own defensemen. But LA responded instantly. Gavrikov coughed up the puck directly in front of the crease, gifting Kevin Fiala a point‑blank chance that he buried top shelf over a helpless Quick.
New York managed to tie the game late in the period on a slick give‑and‑go between a red‑hot Mika Zibanejad — riding a 10‑game point streak — and JT Miller, who ripped a wrist shot to make it 2–2.
Second Period: Missed chances and momentum lost
The Kings regained control early in the second when Travis Ward scored on a weak‑side play that caught Quick off guard. New York was then gifted a golden opportunity when LA took back‑to‑back penalties, giving the Rangers a 5‑on‑3 for 90 seconds. They generated pressure but failed to convert — a turning point that reignited the Kings and their crowd.
LA capitalized shortly after the kill. Andrei Kuzmenko was left completely unmarked in front of the net and tapped home a rebound to extend the Kings’ lead to 4–2.
Third Period: A brief lifeline, but no comeback
Midway through the third, Corey Perry drove the net and Alex Laferriere buried the rebound to seemingly make it 5–2. Sullivan challenged for goalie interference, and after review, officials ruled that Perry impeded Quick’s movement. The goal was overturned, keeping the deficit at 4–2.
The Rangers pulled Quick with two and a half minutes remaining, but the late push by a JT Miller goal with his second of the game with 26.7 left in the third period pulled the Rangers within one but it was too little too late. Their comeback attempt fizzled, sealing another frustrating loss on a road trip that’s quickly slipping away from them.
The Rangers have now lost 10 of 12 games since Christmas, and as Chris Drury works the phones, it’s becoming painfully clear that this incarnation of the New York Rangers is on life support.
This Blueshirts team has now become nothing more than a storefront window for contenders, letting other clubs stroll by, point at the pieces they want, and pluck them away to fuel their own Stanley Cup runs.
Stay tuned...