WASHINGTON – Mika Zibanejad scored the goal of the match with 2:32 left, Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves and Rangers beat Washington Capitals 3-1 on Saturday night to close the NHL’s biggest winning streak at seven.
The Rangers have won three out of four against East Division leader Washington this season. Rangers led most of the game on Friday night, before losing two late goals from Alex Ovechkin.
It looked like a similar recipe on Friday, after Pavel Buchnevich gave Rangers an advantage at the end of the first period, with his 11th goal of the season after a perfect pass from defender Adam Fox. , and the Capitals threatened a game of guaranteeing power.
But Kinkaid kept Rangers in the game, and Zibanejad, who exploded by three goals and three assists in Rangers’ 9-0 win over Flyers on Wednesday, won almost alone. He chased Capitals defender Brenden Dillon in the offensive zone, stole the puck and landed a shot that overtook Ilya Samsonov.
The Rangers bench exploded before Zibanejad arrived to celebrate his unassisted goal and the seventh of the season, after a difficult start. Brett Howden sealed it with an empty net with 28 seconds to go.
Kinkaid, Rangers’ third goalkeeper, took his second win of the season a week after closing Boston Bruins. He and Alexandar Georgiev continue to ride, with Igor Shesterkin still out, with a groin strain.
Samsonov allowed two goals in 24 shots. Washington lost for the first time since March 5 in Boston.