MONTREAL (AP) — Mika Zibanejad scored the game-winning goal and Patrick Kane scored his first goal for New York as the Rangers rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Thursday night.
Alexis Lafreniere and Jacob Trouba added goals in regulation, and Artemi Panarin finished with three assists. Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves as New York snapped a two-game losing streak.
Kaiden Guhle, Alex Belzile and Josh Anderson scored for Montreal, which lost for the fifth straight time. Sam Montembeault saved 30 shots.
Guhle opened the scoring 35 seconds into the game when he hit a loose puck in the air.
Guhle was then awarded a penalty kick that allowed the Rangers to tie the score at 3:16 of the first period. Lafreniere targeted Adam Fox’s point shot for his fourth goal in the last five games.
The Canadians regained the lead when Belzile beat Shesterkin with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle at 17:02. The 31-year-old scored his fourth goal of the season and his third in as many games.
Trouba tied the game 48 seconds into the second period when his wrist shot from the right service circle beat Montembeault to the glove side.
Anderson restored the Canadiens’ lead with a short-handed goal at 13:20 of the second.
Chris Tierney stole the puck from Kane in the defensive zone and ran away, drawing two players to his side before sending a pass to Anderson, who scored his 19th of the season.
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Kane responded on the same power play at 14:31 with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Montembeault over his left bag.
In overtime, Fox received a holding penalty with 1:27 remaining. Montreal’s Rafael Harvey-Pinard redirected a Mike Hoffman shot on the power play, but it rang off the crossbar, leaving the game tied.
Montreal failed to score on all three penalty kick attempts. Zibanejad had the only score in the shootout.
Panarin posted his seventh 70-point season in his first eight seasons. He became the third undrafted player to reach the milestone, joining Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Peter Stastny.
NHL referee Marc Joanette worked the 1,500th game of his career. Coaches Martin St. Louis and Gerard Gallant presented him with custom Canadiens and Rangers jerseys. Joanette was also honored by the Canadiens during a first-period television timeout.
Rangers: In Buffalo on Saturday.
Canadians: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.