Rangers Net Four Goals In The Third To Topple Upstart Vegas Golden Knights

NEW YORK (AP) — Mika Zibanejad got the tie-breaking goal with 5:39 left and the New York Rangers scored four in the third period to rally for a 6-4 win over the expansion Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

Jimmy Vesey, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich and Michael Graber scored for the Rangers, and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves. Zibanejad also had assists on the first two goals in the third, helping the Rangers win for the third time in seven games (3-2-2).

Reilly Smith scored twice, Oscar Lindberg got a goal against his former team and David Perron converted a penalty shot for Vegas, which has lost consecutive games after winning five straight. Maxime Lagace, the fourth goalie used by the Golden Knights this season, stopped 32 shots in his first NHL start.

Kreider pulled the Rangers to 4-3 with a power-play goal as he took a pass from Zibanejad and beat Lagace from the left side for his third at 5:31 of the third.

Buchnevich tied it nearly four minutes later, taking a pass from Zibanejad on the left side and putting it into the open net with Lagace out of position after moving forward in the crease. It gave Buchnevich a goal for the third straight game.

Grabner added an empty-netter with 1:14 left to seal it.

Trailing 2-1 after a lackluster first period, the Rangers came out aggressively to start the second and tied the score at 1:29. Kevin Hayes' shot from the left side behind the net went off Rick Nash's skate to Zuccarello, who put it in for his third.

The Golden Knights went back ahead 3-2 at 7:06 as Smith scored on a backhand from the right side for his fourth of the season and second of the game.

Lundqvist made a pair of sprawling saves on his back with about a minute left in the second, but Perron was hooked by Hayes and awarded a penalty shot. Perron deked and scored five-hole on Lundqvist for his fourth to put Vegas up by two.

Vesey put the Rangers up 1-0 just 2:45 into the game as he got a pass from David Desharnais from the left side behind the net and fired it past Lagace. It came on the Rangers' first shot on goal.

The Golden Knights tied it as Lindberg scored at 5:22, backhanding the rebound of a shot by Alex Tuch past a sprawled Lundqvist for his fifth.

Vegas took a 2-1 lead with 39 seconds left in the first when Colin Miller's point shot was deflected in front by Jonathan Marchessault and put in by Smith.

NOTES: Rangers D Brady Skjei played in his 100th regular-season game. ... Zibanejad topped 200 career points and has at least one in four straight games (three goals, four assists). ... The Rangers have won six straight first meetings against expansion teams since losing the initial matchup at home to Anaheim on Oct. 19, 1993. ... Lundqvist earned his 408th win, moving past Glenn Hall for sole possession of ninth place on the NHL's career list. ... The teams conclude their season series Jan. 7 at Las Vegas. ... The Golden Knights, who have been active in trying to help the Las Vegas community heal from the mass shooting at the beginning of the month, were staying at a hotel in Battery Park in lower Manhattan near a terrorist attack earlier in the day. Just blocks away, a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan drove a rented truck onto a bike path, killing at least eight people and seriously injuring 11 others. The team was delayed a little in leaving the area for Madison Square Garden, but arrived about 75 minutes before the start. ... Vegas placed G Oscar Dansk on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. G Dylan Ferguson was recalled from Kamloops of the Western Hockey League on an emergency basis to serve as Lagace's backup. Top goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) has not been cleared to resume skating, and backup Malcolm Subban (lower-body injury) is also out.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: At Boston on Thursday night in the third of a six-game trip.

Rangers: At Tampa Bay on Thursday night to open a two-game trip to Florida.

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