Kings Falter, Beat 5-2 by Rangers

Looking to win two straight, the Los Angeles Kings lost to the New York Rangers 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

The game started off with excellent pace. A back-and-forth game that saw both teams get their chances.

The Kings started to grow into the game and were carrying play after the first few minutes. But, Igor Shesterkin was on his game and the Kings couldn't solve him.

The Rangers would open up the scoring with six minutes to go. 

After a failed breakout for the Kings, Alexis Lafreniere threw a puck on net that bounced off Jonathan Quick and in.

With just over three minutes remaining, confusion set in, as K'Andre Miller was assessed a five-minute major without an obvious penalty occurring.

After a lengthy review, Miller was assessed a five-minute match penalty after it became clear Miller spit on Drew Doughty.

On the ensuing power play, Adrian Kempe found himself in space early and put a shot past Shesterkin but was denied by the post.

The Kings didn't generate much on the rest of the power play before the period ended and went into intermission down one with power play time.

The Kings weren't able to threaten Shesterkin much on the power play early in the second, with no real chances on the man advantage.

Shortly after killing the five minute penalty, Vincent Trocheck put the Rangers up 2-0.

It was another unlucky bounce for Matt Roy, who deflected Trocheck's centering feed above Quick's shoulder and in.

The Kings then found themselves in real trouble a minute and a half later, with Trocheck scoring his second of the night. Trocheck, between four Kings defenders, put a tame effort on net that beat Quick over the shoulder. 

After the goal, Pheonix Copley entered the game and Quick's night was ended.

After a rocky few minutes following the goal, the Kings were able to collect themselves and get back to playing decent hockey.

They were able to get a crucial goal late in the period on the power play. Viktor Arvidsson batted in a rebound from in tight to get the Kings on the board with under two minutes remaining in the period. 

The Kings then came out flying for the third period. As Matt Roy brought the Kings within one with a snipe on a two-on-one.

The momentum didn't last long for the Kings though. 

Just 40 seconds later a miscue behind the net saw Copley out of position for a Artemi Panarin chance. Copley was able to recover and make a save on Panarin's first bid, but couldn't stop the rebound.

The Rangers then extended their lead to three goals on the power play. Mika Zibanejad, who left the game in the second period after blocking a shot, wired a one-timer past Copley.

The Kings were able to apply some pressure after the goal, but the Rangers were able to slow the game down and tighten up defensively. 

The Kings also struggled to solve Shesterkin who was on his game all night.

The Kings also negated two power plays by taking penalties of their own. With Kevin Fiala and Arthur Kaliyev both taking trips to the box. 

It was a game were the Kings weren't at their best and were their own worst enemy all night.

They'll need to put that poor performance behind them though and get ready for the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.