Injury-depleted Ducks continue to struggle, losing to Rangers
NEW YORK — Chris Kreider scored twice to move into third place on New York’s career goals list, Jonathan Quick made 29 saves to continue his stellar start to the season and the Rangers beat the Ducks 5-1 on Friday night.
After Jimmy Vesey broke a tie with 8:15 left in the second with his seventh goal, Kreider tipped the puck past Lukas Dostal on a power play for his second of the game and 16th of the season to make it 3-1 with 3:41 left in the period.
The 32-year-old Kreider has 281 goals — 100 on the power play — to move past Adam Graves on the franchise list. Only Hall of Famers Rod Gilbert (406) and Jean Ratelle (336) have more.
“It’s hard to talk about it postgame right now, especially since we have a game tomorrow,’’ Kreider said when asked about moving past the rugged Graves, a Rangers cornerstone when they won the Stanley Cup in 1994. “I’m happy with the result tonight.”
Simon Holmstrom scores the tiebreaking goal with 1:33 left in regulation as the Islanders squeak by the Ducks.
The Rangers are 20-7-1, with a showdown set for Saturday night in Boston against the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins.
Krieder’s first goal of the game gave him 500 career points, making him the 12th player to reach that milestone with the Rangers. He has 11 goals in his last 21 games.
Quick, the 37-year-old netminder who joined New York as a free agent last summer, is 9-0-1.
“It was a great effort by the team,’’ Quick said. ”We have a defense-first mentality and it goes a long way.”
Adam Edstrom scored in the closing seconds of his NHL debut for the Rangers. The 23-year-old Swede, who is 6-foot-7, was summoned earlier in the day from Hartford of the American Hockey League and ended up replacing late scratch Nick Bonino.
“I was trying to keep my nerves cool in front of all these fans,’’ said Edstrom, who was expecting to play for Hartford at home against Rochester before his recall. ”It’s a dream come true for sure, making your NHL debut. To do it at Madison Square Garden is special.”
Mika Zibanejad also scored to help the Rangers rebound from a 7-3 home loss to Toronto on Tuesday night.
Kreider’s meaningful night impressed first-year Rangers coach Peter Laviolette.
“He’s been amazing since the time he got here,’’ Laviolette said. “The way he been able to score goals and produce for one club is a tremendous accomplishment.”
Brett Leason scored for the Ducks. The Rangers are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games against Anaheim, which lost for the 13th time in 14 games.
“We’ve got to start finding ways to win,” Leason said. ”It’s frustrating.”
The injury-depleted Ducks, who fell to the Islanders 4-3 on Wednesday night, continue their four-game trip with visits to New Jersey on Sunday and Detroit on Monday.
“I thought we played hard and then we get into penalty trouble again,’’ Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. ”Then it’s bingo-ball. Who’s going to get the next penalty? ... We lost the game, give the Rangers credit. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
