In Tempe, the visiting New York Ranges were collecting and giving away points like jelly beans on a holiday weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, the Rangers bookended a dreary middle frame with a pair of well-played 20-minute stints of hockey.
Alexis Lafrenière hit for his first career hat trick in an 8-5 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
After the dismal defensive effort in the second period, the Rangers broke the game open in the third with three goals.
Chris Kreider put the Rangers up, 4-3, at 5:45 of the third, hitting from his favorite spot at the top of the crease. It was his 300th career NHL goal.
A goal by Kreider in the middle frame had been waved off after review.
Zac Jones scored at 7:16 of the third for a 5-3 lead for New York.
Barclay Goodrow then hit a shorthanded strike at 9:33 to balloon the lead to 6-3.
“Today it was back and forth, a little up-and-down game, but they’ve got a good young team,” Laviolette said. “Sometimes you look at the standings and you can get fooled. So, I was happy with the fact we came out in that third period and we got the job done.”
The Rangers needed every one of those goals as the Coyotes attempted a rally.
Arizona scored twice to get back within one at 6-5.
Lawson Crouse hit off the power play at 12:21 to trim the deficit to 6-4.
“Their pushback, the third period was frustrating,” Crouse said. “We go in tied and [to] allow them to score three goals is no good. Against the top team in the League, you can’t do that.”
Logan Cooley then cut the gap to one at 6-5 with a marker at 14:26.
“We generated enough offense, but we had some major breakdowns, we had some mental mistakes,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “That’s frustrating. The game was there for us [in the third period].”
The Rangers hit for two empty-net strikes for the 8-5 final.
Panarin hit the first at 17:35 to make it a 7-5 lead.
Lafreniere collected his hats at with 15 seconds left on the game clock for the 8-5 final count on the scoreboard.
“It’s good to get that first one,” Lafreniere said. “I’m just playing my game and playing with confidence.”
Quick is now 17-5-2 on the campaign with the Rangers, not bad for a back up.
“He’s been so good for so long, for him to get that milestone is pretty unbelievable,” Lafreniere said.
Karel Vejmelka made 24 saves in the loss.
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