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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Josef Stumpel scored twice for his team and almost put one in for the New York Rangers, too.
Stumpel tied the game for the Los Angeles Kings and then put them ahead Thursday night in a 3-1 win over the Rangers.
|  | | L.A. goalie Jamie Storr stopped 25 Rangers shots to earn his 15th win of the season. |
The center came within two feet of giving the Rangers a goal eight minutes in when Kings goalie Jamie Storr headed to the bench on a delayed-penalty call. Stumpel, mistaking a linesman at the New York blue line for Rob Blake teammates, sent the puck the length of the ice -- wide of the left post.
"I saw Blakie, but I didn't put it right where he was standing," Stumpel said. "I was hoping it didn't go in the net, and I got a little bit lucky."
Several years ago, while with Boston, Stumpel scored into his own net in a Bruins loss.
The Kings, who surrendered six first-period goals in an 8-3 loss at Madison Square Garden in their only other meeting this season, tied it at 1 with 2:24 left in the second period.
Luc Robitaille, who set up the first two Los Angeles goals, earned his 500th assist with the Kings.
Stumpel scored the game-winner with 15:57 to play, beating Mike Richter to the stick side from the left circle. Robitaille banged the puck off the boards past Rangers defenseman Mathieu Schneider at the blue line.
It was Stumpel's 14th goal and his third game-winner in seven contests. Stumpel scored in overtime Saturday night to beat Nashville.
The Rangers were coming off an overtime victory a night earlier against Anaheim, but the Kings didn't allow momentum to carry over.
"We tried to make them play tired," right wing Donald Audette said. "Right off the bat, our job was to work harder than they did. It's always hard in the second game of back-to-back games, so if you keep them playing tired, there's a good chance you're going to come up with the puck a lot."
The seventh-place Rangers squandered a chance to increase their one-point edge over Pittsburgh and Montreal in the race for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
"We knew it was going to be a hard game tonight," Richter said. "We won an emotional game last night, and it's tough coming back against a team that's waiting for you.
"But this is crunch time, and whatever hurdles you have to get over -- whether it's fatigue or bad bounces -- you get over. And we will, as long as we all stay healthy."
New York is trying to avoid missing the playoffs in three consecutive seasons for the first time since a four-year drought from 1963-66.
Rookie Michael York scored his 22nd goal and seventh on the power play to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Kings defenseman Jere Karalahti was sent off for hooking Petr Nedved just 14 seconds before York scored 10:17 in. York got the puck at the goal line from Theo Fleury and banked it in off the inside of Storr's left leg.
"He's a very smart player," Nedved said. "It seems like he's always at the right spot at the right time, and he's been a huge help for us.
"I don't think anybody at the beginning of the season would have thought that he was going to play this well, but he's been playing unbelievable for us."
Bryan Smolinski scored into an empty-net with two seconds remaining after Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch was dumped at the Los Angeles blue line.
New York forward John MacLean sat out his second straight game after getting hit in the right eye by a puck Monday night.
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Ottawa 7
Pittsburgh 0
Philadelphia 3
Washington 1
Vancouver 2
St. Louis 2
Toronto 6
Calgary 2
Phoenix 5
NY Islanders 0
Los Angeles 3
NY Rangers 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rangers' rookie Mike York scores from the impossible angle.
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