Agencies/Los Angeles
Nearly seven months after the New York Rangers’ Stanley Cup hopes were crushed on the Staples Center ice, they returned to Hollywood and demonstrated why they’ve got a great chance to get back to the big stage again this summer.
Dan Boyle had a goal and an assist, Cam Talbot made 28 saves and the Rangers held off the Los Angeles Kings for a 4-3 victory Thursday in a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup finals.
Kevin Klein, Lee Stempniak and Martin St. Louis scored in a 5:46 span of the second period for the Rangers, who erased an early two-goal deficit and completed a Southern California sweep with their 12th win in 13 games overall.
‘‘It’s a tough building to come in and play, and obviously we didn’t fare very well in here last time,’’ said Talbot, who overcame a rocky beginning to win in just his second start in New York’s last 13 games. ‘‘It’s a good measuring stick for us. It was great to get a win in a building like this.’’
Derick Brassard had two assists for the Rangers, who are on their longest streak of regular-season success in two decades. Conn Smythe Trophy winner Justin Williams got his second goal with 4:03 to play while the Kings dominated the third period, but Talbot held on during the Kings’ 6-on-4 advantage in the final 35.9 seconds.
‘‘When we’re not skating, we don’t play to our strengths,’’ Brassard said. ‘‘In the first period, we were pretty slow out there. In the second period, we started skating, and that gave us a chance to win.’’
Elsewhere, Jakub Voracek scored a power-play goal 1:28 into overtime to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals.
In addition to Voracek, who leads the NHL with 49 points on 16 goals and 33 assists, the Flyers (16-18-7) also got goals from R.J. Umberger and Sean Couturier.
Washington goaltender Braden Holtby made 30 saves while starting his 23rd straight game, a Caps (21-12-7) record.
Alexander Steen scored one goal and assisted on another to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Seven different players scored for the Blues (25-13-3), who have now scored 20 goals in their last three games.
The Sharks fell to 22-15-5 with the loss.