LOS ANGELES — “The Hobbit” is making this a habit.
After two empty postseasons, Mats Zuccarello has become a prime-time playoff performer, one of the Rangers’ most consistent forwards in this run. The speedy, energetic left wing was at it again Saturday night.
He scored his fifth goal of the playoffs and added an assist, helping the Rangers build a pair of two-goal leads they were unable to hold onto in another demoralizing Stanley Cup finals setback, a 5-4 double-overtime loss to the Kings at Staples Center on Saturday night.
The first Norwegian player to score a Stanley Cup finals goal, and the only current NHL player from Norway, Zuccarello was all over the ice Saturday.
“He’s playing well, he just battles really hard, and he’s really dynamic with the puck,” linemate Derick Brassard said. “As a line, we were not really happy with our game [in Game 1], and I think we bounced back tonight. It’s just frustrating we couldn’t find a way to get a big goal for the team in overtime.”
Zuccarello was at the forefront of one of the more important plays of the evening, Brassard’s tally just 11 seconds after the Kings had pulled to within 3-2 at 14:39 of the second period.
After the Rangers won a face-off, they dumped the puck into the Kings end. Zuccarello plowed ahead, sprinting behind the Los Angeles net, beating defense Willie Mitchell to the puck, and flipping it to Brassard in front for the point-blank goal.
Zuccarello, the Rangers’ regular-season leader in points scored, also tallied the game’s second goal, getting to the doorstep of the net by fighting off rugged Kings center Anze Kopitar, and stuffed home the rebound of a Ryan McDonagh shot past goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Zuccarello, however, wasn’t taking any bows. He was frustrated with another overtime defeat.
“We have to forget about this now, and go back to New York and win two games there,” he said. “They had more shots than us, but they shoot from everywhere. I think we had a lot of quality chances, we just didn’t score. And we have to score.”