HL season before Columbus asked the Knights to pick him in the expansion draft. The Swede promptly scored 43 goals in Vegas and established h

NEW YORK (AP) — After a lackluster first two periods Columbus Blue Jackets T-Shirts Authentic , the New York Rangers came out with more intensity in the third and got a needed win.Kevin Hayes scored on a short-handed breakaway with 40 seconds remaining and the Rangers rallied with three goals in the third period to beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 Tuesday night.“Hopefully this win can kind of springboard us into some Ws,” said Hayes, who extended his point streak to five games. “We’re trying to get better every day and I thought tonight was pretty flat the whole game from both teams, and then it was an exciting third.”Vladislav Namestnikov had a goal and two assists, and Filip Chytil added an empty-netter for New York. Alexandar Georgiev, called up on Sunday after a stint in the minors, stopped 14 shots to help the Rangers win for the second time in eight games (2-3-3).“We haven’t felt great about ourselves for a while,” New York coach David Quinn said. “Tonight was a feel-good moment for us. …. To be able to overcome the first two periods and play with the purpose and the pace that we did and a little bit of an edge to our game, it’s a testament to our guys.”Trailing 1-0 after two periods, the Rangers came out aggressive in the third period and outshot the Ducks 14-1 over the final 20 minutes. After falling short on several chances in the first half of the period, the Rangers broke through near the midpoint.Brett Howden brought the puck along the boards on the left side, skated toward the corner and sent a centering pass to Namestnikov, who cut between two Anaheim players and beat Johnson from the left side for his fourth at 9:52.With Chytil in the penalty box for interference on Johnson — a call Quinn disagreed with — Hayes skated up the left side in the final minute of regulation Columbus Blue Jackets Hoodies Authentic , cut in and fired a shot that the goalie got a piece of, but the puck got through and across the goal line for his ninth. It gave Hayes four goals and 10 points in the last five games.“I thought it was justice that we got a short-handed goal and I’ll leave it at that,” Quinn said.Chytil then came out of the box and scored into an empty net with 19 seconds remaining to seal the win and help the Rangers avoid their fifth overtime game in the last six.Pontus Aberg scored on a deflection for the Ducks, who had won nine of their previous 10 games. Chad Johnson, claimed off waivers from St. Louis on Dec. 11, finished with 21 saves in his Anaheim debut.“We stopped playing in the third, and they came with a push,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “We get kind of a break to get a power play and they score the goal. We set something up and didn’t execute it and next thing we know the puck’s in our net.”The Rangers finished 0 for 3 on the power play, and the Ducks were 0 for 5.Georgiev was sharp after his two-week stint with Hartford of the AHL to get more playing time.“I felt pretty good,” he said. “It’s a bit easier to play when you’re in that rhythm. I got five games there in the two weeks, so it was easier to come back and be sharp.”Neither team could muster many chances through the first two periods, with Anaheim holding a 14-10 edge on shots on goal.Anaheim got on the scoreboard with 5:51 left in the middle period as Aberg’s centering pass from behind goal line went off Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad’s skate and past Georgiev for his 11th of the season.The Ducks had a chance to double the lead as Getzlaf passed the puck off his skate to Ondrej Kase cutting to the net, but Georgiev made a nice glove save to his left with just under four minutes remaining in the middle period.Keifer Sherwood hit a goalpost for the Ducks 3:13 into the game Columbus Blue Jackets Hats Authentic , and Nieves did the same a little more than seven minutes in.NOTES: Johnson was 2-6-0 with 3.54 GAA in 10 games for the Blues this season. … Getzlaf had an assist on Aberg’s goal, giving him six assists and seven points in the last five games. … Anaheim snapped a six-game road winning streak, falling one short of matching the franchise record set Nov 28 to Dec. 13, 2006. … The Rangers won for the eighth time in the teams’ last 10 meetings, including 3-2 in a shootout at Anaheim on Nov. 1. … Georgiev was making his first appearance for the Rangers since finishing with 36 saves in a 5-2 loss at Montreal on Dec. 1.UP NEXTDucks: At Boston on Thursday night in the fourth of a five-game eastern trip.Rangers: At Toronto on Saturday night. LAS VEGAS (AP) While the Washington Capitals celebrated their first Stanley Cup title amid strewn sticks and gloves Thursday night, the T-Mobile Arena fans rose and gave one more stirring ovation to the bowed, kneeling figures in grey sweaters on the other end of the ice.The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t win the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. Just being there was a stupendous feat – and their fans quickly reminded them that it will feel even sweeter when the immediate sting of losing subsides.”You come to Las Vegas thinking you’re going to play hockey,” Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. ”Instead, you find a home.”After playing a significant role in healing a city scarred by a mass shooting shortly before their regular-season opener, the Knights went farther and accomplished more than any expansion team in modern sports history. Vegas blew past the NHL expansion records for victories (51) and points (109) while winning the Pacific Division, and the upstarts then cut a swath through the Western Conference playoffs with 12 wins in 15 games.About six months later than even their most optimistic new fans could have reasonably expected, the Golden Knights finally ran into an obstacle they couldn’t surmount.”When you’re that close, it hurts. It hurts a lot Custom Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys ,” defenseman Luca Sbisa said Friday, emotion evident in his voice. ”Right now, I’m speechless. But we can be proud of what we did.”When owner Bill Foley proposed a six-year timetable for the Knights’ first Stanley Cup title, he was gently laughed off in the hockey world. Now that his team almost beat his projection by five years, general manager George McPhee is in charge of figuring out another daunting task.What in the world will Vegas do for an encore?Keeping the core of the NHL’s 31st franchise intact will be challenging, but definitely possible. The Knights also must figure out what pieces to add to a franchise that’s already looking like a desirable destination for veteran players who like warm weather and lots of winning.The Knights’ most prominent unrestricted free agents are Sbisa and forwards James Neal and David Perron. They have several key restricted free agents, including goal-scoring star William Karlsson and defenseman Shea Theodore.Although they don’t get another expansion draft, they’ve also got leftover assets from last summer to make moves for veteran players, both in free agency and in trades. McPhee has already begun work, but he said it’s likely the Knights won’t make major changes.After all, they’ve got a pretty good thing going.”Sometimes a great story, book or movie doesn’t have a perfect ending,” McPhee said. ”But it’s still a great story.”Here are more things to know about the Knights and their upcoming offseason:LONG TERM: Although McPhee took his job with a stated goal to build a foundation www.officialstarsproonline.com , the Golden Knights’ immediate success demonstrated that the future could be now. McPhee might not need to choose between the two courses of action, as he reiterated during his immediate comments Friday while the players packed up their lockers for the summer. McPhee should have the salary cap room and financial resources to make almost any personnel decision, and he also has a stockpile of two first-round picks and six second-round picks in the next three drafts.FREE-AGENT FORWARDS: Neal has been a dependable NHL goal-scorer for a decade, and he scored 25 goals for the Knights while serving as a valuable veteran leader. McPhee seems eager to sign Neal, and Neal repeatedly said Friday that he wants to be back. A deal seems probable. The Knights face a tougher decision on Perron, who set a career high with 66 points in the regular season. He didn’t score a goal between March 4 and Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, getting relegated to a depth line. Perron revealed Friday that in-season talks with the Knights didn’t result in a new contract. ”I had a good year,” Perron said. ”I deserve what I deserve, but I’m willing to work with them to make sure I stay here.”PRECIOUS FLOWER: Despite a middling Final, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was the backbone of Vegas’ success with 29 wins and a .927 save percentage in the regular season before three solid postseason rounds. He’s still a year away from unrestricted free agency, and if the three-time NHL champ gets his way, he’ll finish his career in Nevada. ”A couple of years ago, I was told I was getting too old to play Dallas Stars T-Shirts Authentic ,” Fleury said. ”I still love it. Vegas gave me an opportunity to continue doing what I love and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”KARLSSON’S WORTH: Karlsson is one of McPhee’s biggest assets going into the offseason, and also one of the GM’s biggest challenges. The former Ducks and Blue Jackets prospect had never scored 10 goals in an NHL season before Columbus asked the Knights to pick him in the expansion draft. The Swede promptly scored 43 goals in Vegas and established himself as an elite talent. He made $1 million in the just-completed season, and he clearly deserves a fat raise. Given his unusual accomplishments and unclear market value, Karlsson also seems a possible candidate for another team to sign to an offer sheet, although that strategy is rarely used in the modern NHL.NO PARADE: Despite their record-setting season, the Golden Knights say they won’t participate in any postseason parade or celebration after falling short of the Cup. Clark County and the Las Vegas city government had discussed throwing a parade even if the Knights didn’t win, but it would have been a potential source of embarrassment in traditional hockey circles.—AP freelance writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.—