Kevin Hayes scored on a short-handed breakaway with 40 seconds remaining and the Rangers rallied to beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“Hopefully this win can kind of springboard us into some W’s,” Hayes said. “We’re trying to get better every day, and I thought tonight was pretty flat the whole game from both teams, and then it was an exciting third.”
Vladislav Namestnikov had a goal and two assists, and Filip Chytil added an empty-netter in the Rangers’ three-goal third period. Alexandar Georgiev, called up on Sunday after a stint in the minors, stopped 14 shots to help the Rangers win for the second time in eight games (2-3-3). He was making his first appearance for the Rangers since finishing with 36 saves in a 5-2 loss at Montreal on Dec. 1.
“We haven’t felt great about ourselves for a while,” Rangers Coach David Quinn said. “Tonight was a feel-good moment for us.”
Pontus Aberg scored on a deflection in the second period for the Ducks, who had won nine of their previous 10 games. Chad Johnson, claimed off waivers from St. Louis on Dec. 11, finished with 21 saves in his Anaheim debut.
With Chytil in the penalty box for interference on Johnson, Hayes skated up the left side, cut in and fired a shot that Johnson got a piece of, but the puck got through and across the goal line. It gave Hayes four goals and 10 points in his last five games, and nine goals over all.
Chytil then came out of the box and scored into an empty net with 19 seconds remaining.
MAPLE LEAFS 7, DEVILS 2 John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau scored in the opening 13:38, fueling Toronto’s rout of the Devils at Prudential Center.
Nazem Kadri matched his career high with three assists and Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly added second-period goals as the Maple Leafs won for the seventh time in 11 games (7-2-2). Tyler Ennis scored two late goals to finish the scoring.
Frederik Andersen made 27 saves in winning for the second time in his last five starts (2-2-1).
Sami Vatanen and Nico Hischier scored for the Devils, who are 3-6-6 in their last 15 games and now have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Keith Kinkaid gave up five goals on 21 shots before being lifted for Mackenzie Blackwood with his team behind, 5-1, after two periods.
“Tonight is not something you can just look past,” Devils Coach John Hynes said. “We have to dig into it and get some answers.”
Blackwood, called up from Binghamton on Monday when Cory Schneider was placed on injured reserve with an abdominal strain, made his N.H.L. debut, giving up the two late goals to Ennis.
Marleau’s goal was the 544th of his career, tying him for No. 30 in N.H.L. history with Maurice Richard.
FLYERS 3, RED WINGS 2 Carter Hart made 22 saves in his N.H.L. debut, and Shayne Gostisbehere and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist as host Philadelphia beat Detroit, making the interim coach Scott Gordon a winner in his first game.
Radko Gudas also scored for Philadelphia, which snapped a four-game losing streak and moved past the Devils in the East. It was the Red Wings’ fourth loss in a row.
The 20-year-old Hart, the club’s second-round pick (48th over all) in the 2016 draft, was called up from the American Hockey League on Monday. He became the sixth goalie to start for the Flyers this season. It is the 14th time in league history a team has started six goalies in a season and the only time it has happened in the first 35 games.
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