Rangers go bust Vegas too much for Blueshirts
The Vegas Golden Knights got off to a fast start with two quick goals to start the game, then added two more early in the second period. That was enough to get their first threegame winning streak of the season.
Alex Tuch scored twice in the first four minutes and the Gold- en Knights beat the Rangers, 4-1, Mon- day night at the Garden.
Reilly Smith and
Max Pacioretty also scored, and Malcolm Subban stopped 29 shots as Vegas improved to 5-2-1 after a season-high fivegame skid (0-4-1).
“You could see it really set the tone for our team,” Subban said of the early goals. “And then to follow it up with two more obviously helps. A 4-0 lead definitely gets you feeling good about yourself.” Though the Golden Knights were feeling good about their longest win streak of the season, Tuch said they don’t think about it too much.
“We’re just going out there trying to play each period one at a time,” he said, “and just trying to get a win every night.”
Brendan Lemieux scored and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 28 saves for the Rangers, who were 4-0-1 in their previous five games.
“I didn’t like our mentality,” Ranger coach David Quinn said. “We were way too riskoriented, we just did not play a very solid, structured game. We really fueled their offense.”
The Rangers went 0 for 6 on the power play against a Vegas team that came in tied for fifth in penalty-killing.
The Rangers picked up the pace in the second half of each of the first two periods and came out more aggressive to start the third. The Rangers outshot the Golden Knights, 8-1, over the first 12 minutes and finished the period with a 11-4 advantage, but couldn’t score.
“We found a way, we made some good saves,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “The guys did a really good job on the PK and that was the difference for us.”
Subban, getting the start while Marc-Andre Fleury is away from the team following his father’s death, denied Ryan Strome’s tip try nearly seven minutes into the third, Filip Chytil’s shot from the left circle with 8 1/2 minutes left and Ryan Lindgren’s attempt from above the left circle less than 20 seconds later.