Chris Kreider's two goals help Rangers top Hurricanes

NEW YORK -- Chris Kreider scored two goals in the third period, including the game-winner, to help the New York Rangers to a 4-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Kreider made it 3-2 by scoring off a rebound from in front of the net at 12:25 of the third period. He gave New York a 4-2 lead with a shot off the rush at 17:11.

Carolina (9-10-5) has lost three in a row and five of its past six games since a five-game winning streak. The Rangers (17-8-1), who lost at the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, improved to 8-0-1 after a loss this season.
"If you want to be in the race, that's what you have to do, really push yourself after a loss and try to come back with a better performance personally and as a group," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "You can't afford to get stuck in losing ways. The race is too tight."
WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Rangers highlights
Kreider had no goals in the previous six games and just one in 16 games since Oct. 19. His linemates, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello, also had potential breakout games.
Stepan had assists on each of Kreider's goals, as well as a goal of his own in the first period for his second three-point game of the season; the other came at the Boston Bruins on Nov. 5. Zuccarello had two assists.

Stepan had five points in the previous 13 games. Zuccarello had no goals and two assists, in the previous eight.
"That whole line, after the second period they [were on the ice] for most of our [12] shots except for four," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "They spent a great deal of time in the other team's end playing against their top line. They had one of their best [games] in a long time and hopefully that's the start of a trend here moving forward."

Lundqvist made 26 saves. Michael Grabner scored his 13th goal of the season.
Carolina goalie Michael Leighton made 19 saves, and Viktor Stalberg and Victor Rask scored for the Hurricanes, each time erasing a one-goal lead for the Rangers.

Carolina's problem was it couldn't build off those goals. The Hurricanes also gave away a two-man advantage in the second period when Lee Stempniak was called for slashing Dan Girardi 20 seconds into what would have been a 68-second 5-on-3 opportunity.
"You've got to get hungry to score," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "You can't be content to just play well. And you need offensive contributions out of your top six. That's the reality.
"Three [goals] is the magic number. You've got to be able to get to three."

Goal of the game

Kreider's second goal provided a picture into the difference his line made in the game. Stepan won the faceoff in the defensive zone. Zuccarello picked up the puck and had a head of steam coming out of the zone. Zuccarello was tripped by Justin Faulk, but the puck kept moving forward. Kreider got it, skated in on Leighton, and put a shot off of the left post that bounced back, hit the goalie's right skate and went into the net.

Save of the game

With New York leading 1-0, Lundqvist stuck out his left pad to deny Andrej Nestrasil on a rebound with 16:12 to play in the second period. The save occurred late in what was a 90-second possession for Carolina in New York's zone.

Highlight of the game

Kreider's game-winning goal illustrated another thing the Rangers did well in the third period -- move the puck from low to high. Girardi took a shot from the right point, and the puck came back up top. The Rangers got it back behind the goal line, where Kreider won a battle against Ron Hainsey, allowing him to get the puck back up to Girardi for a one-timer. Stepan got to the rebound and put it off the post. The puck came back out to Kreider, who put it in.

Unsung moment of the game

The Rangers got out of their zone after Lundqvist's save on Nestrasil because J.T. Miller, who a minute earlier had his stick break in the corner, laid out to block Jaccob Slavin's shot from the right point. The puck hit him and Josh Jooris was able to clear it out.

They said it

"You're going to play a lot of games with a lot of desperate teams, and the key is to match that. That's hard sometimes. I felt like for two periods they were a little bit more desperate, they had more energy. Then in the third we picked up our game, got on our speed and just played a really strong third period. That was the difference." -- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist
"We're sort of beyond the moral victories. We need to start producing wins." -- Carolina forward Lee Stempniak

Need to know

Lundqvist earned his 386th victory, moving him within three of tying Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek for the most wins by a European-born goalie in NHL history. Lundqvist is 13th on the League's all-time list.

What's next

Hurricanes: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; FS-CR, SUN, NHL.TV).
Rangers: At the New York Islanders on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNO, MSG Plus, MSG2, NHL.TV).