NHL

Rangers crush Canucks in Tortorella return

Chris Kreider scored three goals, and Rick Nash added a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers spoiled the return of former coach John Tortorella by rolling to a 5-2 victory over his Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

Kreider netted two in the first period for his first NHL multigoal game, and finished his hat trick by tipping in Anton Stralman’s shot with his back to the net at 9:38 of the third. Kreider had scored only five goals — three this season — in his first 43 career games.

His effort brought a rain of hats onto the Madison Square Garden ice.

Nash and defenseman Michael Del Zotto connected in the second against starting goalie Roberto Luongo and backup Eddie Lack to turn the much-anticipated game into a rout.

David Booth and Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver.

Rangers Rookie backup Cam Talbot was sharp again in spelling Henrik Lundqvist, and made 35 saves in his first home start to improve to 6-1. He has allowed only 11 goals in eight outings

The Rangers bounced back from a 3-2 loss at Boston on Friday, that had new coach Alain Vigneault angry, and snapped a three-game losing streak at home even though they were outshot 37-24.

Fans broke out into taunts of “Tor-tor-ella” as the final minutes ticked down.

Vigneault got a bit of satisfaction in the coaching matchup Saturday as he earned a win over his former team that let him go after a first-round playoff ouster last season.

The fiery Tortorella will have another chance to knock off the Rangers, whom he led for 4 1-2 seasons, when they visit Vancouver on April 1.

Kreider got his personal revenge on Tortorella, who often made him a target last season when Kreider was a rookie. Kreider played only 28 games, spending the bulk of his season in the AHL.

The Rangers didn’t rest after grabbing a 2-0 edge in the first period, and quickly stretched their lead in the opening seconds of the middle frame.

It took just one deflected shot by Nash 17 seconds in to make it 3-0 and end the day for Luongo, who stopped only seven of 10 shots. Lack came on and gave up Del Zotto’s second of the season at 11:04 during a power play that made it a four-goal lead.

Luongo, who made his season-high eighth straight start, could be in line for a day off Sunday when the Canucks visit Carolina in another matinee.

The Canucks gave up two total power-play goals after allowing only two in their previous 14 games. They hadn’t yielded two in one game in 16 contests, dating to Oct. 22.

Talbot was seeking his third straight shutout — all on consecutive Saturdays — but his bid ended when Booth got Vancouver within 4-1 with 4:10 left in the second.

Despite being outshot 14-9 and committing several turnovers, the Rangers headed into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

Vancouver had a gaffe of its own at the right point, and the puck came to Nash, who kept the puck in the Canucks’ zone and swept a picture pass onto the stick of Kreider, who was alone in the slot. Kreider quickly let go a shot that got past Luongo to make it 1-0 with 7:23 left in the first.

Alex Edler, who didn’t get the puck out along the boards, received an earful from Tortorella when he returned to the bench after the goal.

The Canucks’ biggest mistake came with 3:28 remaining when forward Zack Kassian flung the puck over the glass and was called for delay of game. Kreider needed only 22 seconds to double the lead with his second of the day.