Fiala Leads Kings to Victory Over Rangers with Two Goals

LOS ANGELES — Kevin Fiala netted two goals, Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves, and the Los Angeles Kings outplayed the New York Rangers with a 3-1 triumph on Tuesday evening.

Phillip Danault also found the back of the net, contributing as the Kings extended their impressive home point streak to 15 games (12-0-3). They joined Washington as the second NHL team this season to boast a home streak of that length, with Washington standing at 11-0-5.

J. T. Miller was the solitary goal scorer for New York, while Igor Shesterkin managed 30 saves. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they’ve dropped four out of their last five matches.

Miller initially gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead just 2:10 into the second period with a contentious goal awarded after a review. It seemed as though a sprawling Kuemper had stopped the puck with a last-ditch right pad sweep. Nevertheless, the situation room in Toronto determined upon video review that the puck had crossed the line, resulting in a goal.

Fiala evened the score with 9:06 left in the second period, capitalizing on a power play with a deflection just off the right side of the goal.

Danault, marking his 700th NHL appearance, propelled the Kings into the lead by scoring on a rebound during another power play with 2:12 left in the second period.

Fiala sealed the game’s outcome with an empty-net goal, claiming his second score of the evening with just 15.1 seconds remaining.

Takeaways

Rangers: New York’s struggles continued with eight losses out of 11 games (3-6-8), leaving them a single point shy of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

Kings: The victory marked the Kings’ ninth win in their last ten games, pushing them two points ahead of Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division.

Key moment

Kuemper delivered a crucial save against the Rangers’ Will Cuylle from close range with about 7:47 remaining. Moments later, he swiftly slid across the crease to secure a loose puck following Adrian Kempe’s deflected block of a Vincent Trocheck shot, maintaining the Kings’ 2-1 advantage.

Key stat

Despite ranking 28th in power play efficiency at 15.7%, the Kings converted multiple power play opportunities in a single game for the first time since October 14 during an 8-7 overtime defeat to Ottawa in their third game of the season.

Up next

The Rangers visit Anaheim on Friday, while the Kings are set to face off against Colorado on Thursday.