Rangers blank Kings, improve to 27-9-1 on road
LOS ANGELES -- Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh scored the first two goals, and Antti Raanta made 30 saves as the New York Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Saturday.
New York (46-25-4) snapped a two-game slide and swept the home-and-home season series. The Rangers extended their league-leading road record to 27-9-1.
Los Angeles (35-32-7) lost for the fifth time in its last seven games. The Kings trail the St. Louis Blues by nine points with eight games remaining for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles was shut out for the 10th time this season. Jonathan Quick stopped 17 New York shots.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Stepan's 15th goal of the season at 13:02 of the second period. Stepan beat Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb at the right post to poke in the rebound of Brendan Smith's shot off the end boards with Mats Zuccarello drawing the secondary assist.
New York extended their margin to 2-0 on McDonagh's sixth goal of the season on the power play at 1:50 of the third period. McDonagh's wrist shot made its way through heavy traffic in the slot past a screened Quick with Zuccarello earning his second assist and Mike Zibanejad earning the secondary helper.
Rick Nash added an empty-net goal, his 21st of the season at 18:52 of the third period to complete the scoring with Zibanejad getting an assist.
NOTES: New York did not dress D Adam Clendening, D Kevin Klein, LW Matt Puempel, LW Tanner Glass, D Steven Kampfer and C Brandon Pirri. ... The Rangers continue their three-game California road trip Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks. They are 11-1-0 against teams in the Pacific Division this season. ... New York assigned G Magnus Hellberg to its AHL Hartford affiliate and signed free agent goaltender Chris Nell on Thursday. Nell, 22 played at Bowling Green State and posted a .916 save percentage this year with a 17-14-2 record. ... Los Angeles scratched LW Kyle Clifford, C Nick Shore, D Kevin Gravel and C Jordan Nolan. ... Kings RW Jonny Brodzinski made his NHL debut wearing sweater number 76, the first player to don that number in franchise history. Brodzinski was the leading scorer for the Kings Ontario AHL affiliate this season, registering 25 goals and 22 assists in 47 games.