Kopitar, Kardiac Kings in New York State of Mind, Edging Rangers in OT

Game 70; 43-22-5

LOS ANGELES — They returned home to give their fans something to cheer about late as the Los Angeles Kings come back from a 3-1 deficit to upend the New York Rangers 4-3 in overtime.

While more exciting events happened later, the Kings were able to show off their resilient ways early.

Just past the halfway mark of the first, J.T. Miller scored to give the Rangers the lead. But just 19 seconds later, the Kings tied as captain Dustin Brown made a great individual effort to net a goal in his third-straight game to tie it.

The Rangers, though, eventually regained their lead — courtesy of Dan Boyle — and went up 3-1 early in the third — courtesy of Kevin Hayes — but the Kings did not quit.

Exactly two minutes after the Rangers went up by two, Jeff Carter fed a streaking Kyle Clifford in front who cashed in on his second, beating a sprawled Henrik Lundqvist to pull Los Angeles to within a goal.

Then, with 4:10 remaining in regulation, Anze Kopitar tipped home a Milan Lucic point shot to tie it before tipping in a Jake Muzzin point shot in overtime to give the Kings their third-straight victory.

They entered Thursday’s matchup as the league’s best team when down after 40 minutes. They also entered overtime with a league-best 10 wins. The Los Angeles Kings further emphasized both marks as they pull out their “Kardiac Kings” moniker to get the win and decrease their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to three. The Kings also extend their division lead to six points on the idle Anaheim Ducks.

Luke Schenn and Drew Doughty both added assists as well but Jeff Carter was the most productive King on this night as he registered three assists. However, not enough can be said about the recent resurgence of Dustin Brown, who added an assist to his goal on Thursday as he is turning up his game at just the right time.

Next up, the Kings put their three-game win streak — and their six-game point streak — on the line on Saturday night when they play host to Zdeno Chara and the Boston Bruins.