Rangers’ Chris Kreider scores two late goals to secure 5-3 win over Kings

Chris Kreider scored two third-period goals for the New York Rangers on Tuesday to earn the team a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

The 31-year-old winger scored a goal from the left circle at 7:06. He passed through Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson to claim a 4-3 lead. Then he scored into an empty net with 40 seconds left for the final score.

Over the previous seven games, Kreider has had five goals and two assists. He has 69 shots on goal, 17 points, 43 hits, nine goals and a plus-six rating in 20 games.

“I don’t think we got bottled up (early), I just think it was kind of a war of attrition. A lot of face-offs in the neutral zone, and everything was kind of in the trenches for a while,” the Rangers told reporters after the game.

“I felt like we did a good job of advancing pucks and making them try to go 200 feet, trying to force turnovers, and it felt like we were just a bounce here or a bounce there away from getting a really good chance.”

The Kings had been leading 2-0 until Braden Schneider, Kaapo Kakko and Vincent Trocheck scored one goal each in the second period. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves for the Rangers. Schneider turned the scoreboard to 2-1 with a slap shot that went through traffic and into the net at 2:22.

At 12:01, the Rangers equalized to 2-2. Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty batted the puck off Trocheck’s blade, which flew over Cal Petersen’s head and into the net.

Kakko scored at 18:44 on a delayed penalty. He netted during the six-on-five, leading to a 3-2 for New York.

The Rangers got off to a slow start, falling behind since the first period. With those three goals heading into the third period, Kreider recorded two heroic goals that sealed the win.