New York, NY – Evander Kane and Olli Jokinen each scored a pair of goals as the Winnipeg Jets continued the New York Rangers' recent struggles with a 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Kane added an assist, while both Anthony Peluso and Ron Hainsey came up with a pair of helpers to help the Jets close out a successful five-game road trip with a 4-1-0 record.
Winnipeg also used a three-goal second period and a solid 30-save effort from Ondrej Pavelec to prevail and deal the reeling Rangers a fourth consecutive defeat (0-3-1).
"It was a big win," said Jokinen afterward. "Overall, this trip was good."
Anton Stralman registered a goal and an assist for New York, which also received goals from Ryan Callahan and Taylor Pyatt. Henrik Lundqvist came up with 28 saves in the setback.
"I think that if we get some people back and we have that type of effort, some of the things that we do correctly, I think we'll get on our way," Rangers head coach John Tortorella said of his slumping team. "We can say all the things we want to say, we just have to try to stay with it. And come to work tomorrow, see what our health is, keep on going about our business each day."
After an evenly-played first period produced no scoring, the Jets peppered Lundqvist with 17 shots during a wide-open second and connected on three of them.
Jokinen broke the deadlock nearly six minutes into the frame, with the ex- Ranger firing a wrister into an open left side of the net after Kane lost control of the puck on a wraparound try.
Kane didn't miss just over a minute later, as the talented young wing took a pass from Peluso and ripped off a perfectly placed rocket that landed just underneath the crossbar for a 2-0 Winnipeg lead.
Callahan gave the Rangers some momentum by crashing the net and poking home a shot from Steve Eminger that was blocked in front near the midway mark of the period, but a turnover in New York's own zone not long afterward would have the Blueshirts back at a two-goal deficit.
Lundqvist stopped Peluso's initial attempt following the giveaway, but Jokinen was all alone on the right side to knock in the rebound and put the Jets up 3-1 with 5:12 remaining in the session.
The teams then combined for three goals within a frantic stretch of less than a minute and a half in the third period.
Pyatt re-directed Stralman's blast from the right point with 10:43 to go to pull the Rangers within 3-2, but Lundqvist let up a somewhat soft score a mere 20 seconds later by letting a snapper from an onrushing Kane to get through his pads.
"Obviously, the fourth goal is something I'm going to think about for the next 24 hours," said Lundqvist.
It took New York just 53 seconds to respond, however, when Stralman put in a carom left by Pavelec on a stop of Marian Gaborik that trimmed the lead to 4-3 with 9:30 still to play.
A holding call by Winnipeg's Jim Slater with 6:09 left gave the Rangers an opportunity to tie, but the Jets killed off the penalty before staving off a New York offensive down the stretch.
Pavelec made four key saves in the final three minutes, while his defense blocked several other shots by the Rangers down the stretch.
Game Notes
Jokinen recorded his first multi-goal effort since netting a hat trick at San Jose on Feb. 8, 2012, while with Calgary ... Kane has now racked up six goals and four assists over an eight-game point streak, the longest current tear in the NHL, and has scored a goal in four straight ... Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh missed the contest after sustaining a suspected concussion in Saturday's 3-0 loss at Montreal, while fellow blueliner Michael Del Zotto (lower body) sat out a second straight game ... Forward Darroll Powe returned to the New York lineup, however, after missing three straight outings with a concussion ... Pavelec appeared in his 204th career game, tying Kari Lehtonen for the most by a goalie in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history ... The Jets have now outscored the opposition by a 22-13 margin in the second period this season ... The Winnipeg franchise improved to 6-2-0 in its last eight visits to Madison Square Garden.
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