Kings 6, Rangers 3: LA scores twice in five minutes and never looks back
Los Angeles ended New York's perfect home start with a fast opening, a three-point night from Drew Doughty and Reimer pulled after one period.
The Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers 6-3 at Madison Square Garden on Monday, ending the Rangers' perfect start at home and winning for the third time in four games after an 0-4-2 opening to the season, according to NHL.com's game recap.
A game decided early
The Kings scored on their first two shots. Taylor Ward put them ahead 1:15 into the game on a breakaway, set up by a pass from Drew Doughty, and Brandt Clarke made it 2-0 at 4:52 with a power-play goal on a delayed penalty. NHL.com notes that was the first time since Feb. 7, 2021 that the Kings scored on their first two shots of a game.
J.T. Miller pulled one back for the Rangers at 13:01, but Doughty restored the two-goal margin at 17:32 with a one-timer from the point. That was the third goal Rangers goalie James Reimer allowed on eight first-period shots, and he did not return. Reimer was making his first start for the club, a day after signing a one-year contract; Dylan Garand replaced him to start the second period and stopped 15 shots.
Second period
Artemi Panarin, who spent time with the Rangers before joining Los Angeles, scored on the power play about a minute and a half into the second, his team-leading seventh goal of the season, to make it 4-1. Mikey Anderson added a slap shot at 6:54 for 5-1. Adam Fox scored on the power play at 13:05 for the Rangers in his 500th NHL game.
Third period
Tye Kartye scored with the goalie pulled at 16:08 to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Joel Edmundson sealed it with an empty-net goal 29 seconds later. Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for the Kings.
What it means
Doughty finished with three points, his first three-point game since Feb. 22, 2025, and moved past Dustin Brown into seventh on the Kings' all-time scoring list with 713 points, NHL.com reports. The Kings stand 3-5-2 and are 3-1-0 on a five-game road trip that ends Tuesday in Chicago.
The Rangers (7-6-1) lost their third straight game and fell behind at home for the first time this season. NHL.com says they played from behind for the first time at home all year, and the early deficit, two goals in the first five minutes, is the clearest thread through the night. Torch has no sourced detail on the Rangers' next game, so we leave it there.