Alexis Lafreniere netted a hat trick and goaltender Jonathan Quick recorded his 65th career shutout as the host New York Rangers beat the struggling Calgary Flames 4-0 on Tuesday.
Conor Sheary also scored and Mika Zibanejad collected two assists, giving him five points (two goals, three assists) in two outings. Gabe Perreault also recorded a pair of assists.
Quick, who made 21 saves to register his second shutout of the season, was not as busy as his counterpart, but he delivered some shutout-saving stops on Matt Coronato, turning aside a pair of point-blank opportunities in the third period.
The Rangers sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but they have posted a 4-1-2 mark in their past seven outings.
Dustin Wolf stopped 26 shots for the Flames, who have the league’s worst road record and are ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks in the overall standings.
Amid a low-event opening period, Lafreniere opened the scoring during a 5-on-3 power play with a nifty redirect of Zibanejad’s shot-pass from the point at 17:27.
With their assists, Zibanejad notched his 800th career point and Adam Fox, who was originally drafted by the Flames, collected his 400th career point.
Sheary’s second goal of the season, a tap-in tally set up by Tye Kartye’s slick pass, doubled the New York lead at 10:28 of the second period.
Lafreniere then made it a 3-0 game four minutes later with another wide-open chance, converting when he was left alone at the side of the net and set up by Perreault.
Lafreniere completed his second career hat trick by burying a one-timer to finish a 2-on-1 rush with Perreault with 2:18 remaining in the game. Lafreniere has produced five goals and four assists in the past five games.
Calgary has dropped its first two clashes in a five-game road swing and has netted only four wins in 16 outings (4-9-3).
