Kreider breaks tie for 3rd, Rangers edge Canucks for 3rd straight win

Hughes scored 34 seconds into the game, taking a pass at the left point, throwing past defenseman Jacob Trouba into the slot and scoring on a backhand that beat Shesterkin’s block to make it 1-0.

Zibanejad tied it 1-1 at 2:31 by deflecting K’Andre Miller’s point shot from inside the left circle and catching Silov’s slide the other way.

“We played a really good first period, maybe one of our best,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “We could have done a few things differently that might have helped prevent (the first goal), but it’s important for me to come back and score.”

Cuylle got behind the Canucks defense on a turnover and made it 2-1 with a breakaway wrist shot over Silovs’ glove at 14:38.

“The puck was spinning like crazy so I didn’t want to hold onto it too much because you never know how it’s going to behave when it’s spinning like that,” Cuylle said. “So I just tried to kind of let it do its own thing and then just smack it hard.”

Kiefer Sherwood tied it 2-2 after the rush at 17:39, taking a cross-ice pass from Pettersson and scoring on a wrist shot from the right face-off dot.

Kakko put New York ahead 3-2 on a rush at 8:45 of the second period when Cuyle’s cross-ice pass deflected off defenseman Carson Soucy’s skate and found Kakko, who put it into the open net.

“Kind of a lucky mare,” Kakko said. “Just go to the net and find the puck and try to shoot, that’s all.”