NEW YORK — Vladislav Namestnikov scored in the second period, Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves and the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Saturday night for their fifth consecutive home win.
Chris Kreider had a goal and two assists for New York, which has won three of four overall. Brendan Smith and Filip Chytil also scored.
Namestnikov gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead with his second of the season 2:37 into the middle period. Kreider helped put it away with a power-play score 7:49 into the third.
Lundqvist picked up an assist on Kreider’s team-leading 11th goal. He also moved past Jacques Plante into seventh place on the NHL goaltender wins list with 438.
The 36-year-old Lundqvist is 7-6-2 this season. He is the only goalie in league history with 20 wins in 13 straight seasons.
Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist for Florida, which dropped to 1-2 on a six-game trip. Aaron Ekblad also scored.
Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo made 20 saves. The 39-year-old Luongo is the only active goaltender with more wins than Lundqvist with 475.
The Rangers bounced back nicely after a 7-5 loss to the Islanders in Brooklyn on Thursday, defeating the Panthers for the second time this season. New York started its current home winning streak with a 5-2 victory against Florida on Oct. 23.
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Rangers are 12-2-3 against the Panthers. Lundqvist is 18-5-2 against Florida since November 2009.
Chytil opened the scoring at 3:03 of the first with his third goal in three games. The 19-year-old forward went without a goal in his first 17 games this season.
Hoffman tied it with a laser shot past Lundqvist at 4:40, extending his team-record point streak to 15 games. Hoffman has eight goals and nine assists during his streak.
Ekblad then put the Panthers in front at 10:11 with a one-timer past Lundqvist for his third goal of the season.
New York tied it 11:49 into the first when Smith, a healthy scratch by coach David Quinn the previous three games, scored his second of the season. The defenceman found space between Luongo and his right post.
NOTES: Rangers F Ryan Strome, who was acquired Friday in a trade with Edmonton for Ryan Spooner, made his New York debut on a line with Jimmy Vesey and Brett Howden. … The Rangers meet the Panthers in Florida on Dec. 8 to complete the season series. … The Rangers scratched D Brady Skjei for the first time this season. Mats Zuccarello was sidelined by a groin injury. . Panthers D Keith Yandle extended his consecutive games streak to 732, seventh-best all-time.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host Dallas Stars on Monday.
Panthers: Visit Ottawa Senators on Monday.
Allan Kreda, The Associated Press