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Have the LA Kings turned the corner after back-to-back wins?

Have the LA Kings turned the corner after back-to-back wins?

NEW YORK – Jonathan Quick made 53 saves on 56 shots. The Los Angeles Kings collected four out of four possible points from the New Jersey Devils on Monday and the New York Rangers on Tuesday, giving them 86 on the season.

Are the Stanley Cup champs finally turning the corner at the right time?

“No. It’s two points,” said Quick, winning back-to-back starts with a 4-2 win over the Rangers.

“Just like yesterday was. It’s not more 'turn the corner' than yesterday was or any of the other wins.”

Yet watching the Kings dominate the Rangers, arguably the best team in the East at the moment, one gets the sense that this veteran team is finding another gear at a critical time. The Kings have 10 games left. The teams they’re chasing for a Western Conference playoff berth keep winning. It’s time to crank up that machine that’s produced two championships under coach Darryl Sutter.

“We don’t want to be in this kind of position, but we do play good hockey when our backs are against the wall,” said center Anze Kopitar, who had two assists in the win.

“It’s going to be tight. Everything is pointing towards that.”

The Rangers started off well.

Mats Zuccarello struck first on a busted play in the Kings’ end, one that was helped along by Los Angeles standing around a bit. J.T. Miller blazed in on left wing and circled behind the Kings’ net. He lost the puck in the corner, gained it back, attempted to move to the front of the net for a chance, lost it again … right to Zuccarello, who fired it past Quick for the 1-0 lead at 51 seconds.

The Kings tied the game later in the period as a Robyn Regehr shot from the point deflected off Keith Yandle and then off Talbot into the net.

Los Angeles took the lead in the second after Talbot stopped point-blank shots from Justin Williams and Marian Gaborik, Anze Kopitar found Gaborik with a cross-ice feed in front of Talbot. Gaborik potted it home to make it 2-1

It was 3-1 when Dwight King sent a perfect pass to the stick blade of Jeff Carter in the Rangers’ crease. The layup at 1:05 of the third period, with Marc Staal failing to mark his man, came as the Kings were outshooting the Rangers 33-21. For Carter, it was goal No. 26.

The Kings took a 4-1 lead when Kopitar found defenseman Jake Muzzin in the slot at 5:28 for his eighth of the season. Kevin Hayes cut the lead late for the Rangers, but the Kings had it well in hand.

The Los Angeles locker room was subdued as expected. Workmanlike. They know the task at hand – seven games on the road, three at home – and aren’t looking for harbingers of momentum. They’re looking for points.

“We’re just trying to win games,” said Sutter. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”