Kings rally past Rangers, end losing streak at six

LOS ANGELES -- Jake Muzzin, Michael Amadio and Tanner Pearson each scored on the power play, and the Los Angeles Kings ended their losing streak at six with a 4-2 victory against the New York Rangers at Staples Center on Sunday.
Defensemen Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez each had two assists, and Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for the Kings (25-17-5) to end his personal five-game losing streak.

David Desharnais and Jimmy Vesey scored in the first period for the Rangers (24-19-5), who have lost two games in a row and four straight on the road. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves.
WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Kings highlights]
The Kings came back from down 2-0 with three power-play goals in the second period.
Muzzin beat Lundqvist with a slap shot from above the left face-off circle 30 seconds into the period to make it 2-1. Los Angeles was on the power play after New York defenseman Brendan Smith received a roughing penalty for cross-checking Trevor Lewis during a scrum after the first period ended.
"Obviously, it was nice to get on the board early and roll from there," Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. "I think the second period was arguably our best period this year. We just got to play more like that."

Amadio scored his second NHL goal at 6:13 to tie it 2-2. Lewis created a turnover behind the New York net. Alec Martinez ended up with the puck and passed to Amadio, who shot top shelf over Lundqvist's glove.
Pearson put Los Angeles ahead 3-2 at 10:22 by deflecting Martinez's shot from the blue line between Lundqvist's legs.
It was Martinez's first multipoint game of the season. Amadio got his first NHL assist on the goal for his first multipoint game in the League.
Lewis scored into an empty net with 17.8 seconds remaining to make it 4-2.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead 3:53 into the game with their third power-play goal in four games. Desharnais scored when what appeared to be a centering pass deflected off Kings defenseman Derek Forbort's skate and past Quick.

Vesey made it 2-0 at 7:12, becoming the eighth New York player with 10 or more goals. Quick made saves on shots by Brady Skjei and Mats Zuccarello, but Vesey scored when he put in the loose puck from the goal mouth.
"There was a few penalties in the second where they just made us pay again and again," Lundqvist said. "Five-on-5, I thought we played a really strong game. We just came up short on the PK, so it's something we'll have to correct for the next one."
After losing six games in a row, Los Angeles finds itself among four Western Conference teams with 55 points (Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild). Calgary is in third place in the Pacific Division, and Colorado holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

Kopitar hopes the Kings can ride momentum from the win against the Rangers into their final two games before their break for the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend begins Thursday.
"We dug ourselves a bit of a hole," Kopitar said. "We want to put a string of wins together here and really get our game in order. I know it's still a little ways away, but you can't put yourself down too many points, and I think tonight was kind of a good steppingstone for us."

Goal of the game

Pearson's goal at 10:22 of the second period.

Save of the game

Quick stopping Desharnais' slap shot at 8:10 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Amadio's goal at 6:13 of the second period.

They said it

"They got people in front. They shot the puck. We weren't able to get our coverage in front of the net, and pucks found their way to get in." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault on the Kings power play
"There's a lot of parity in this league, and oftentimes the difference is an emotion. If you don't have it, then you're probably not going to win too many games in this league." -- Kings defenseman Alec Martinez

Need to know

It was the third time this season the Kings scored three power-play goals in one period. The last time was in the third period of a 5-0 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 2, their last victory prior to their longest losing streak of the season. … Rangers defenseman Marc Staal returned after missing two games with a hip-flexor injury. … New York is the first team in the NHL this season with eight 10-goal scorers. … Los Angeles has been outscored 7-0 in the first period its past six games.

What's next

Rangers: At the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Kings: At the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-W, NHL.TV)