LOS ANGELES — The Kings edged past another hobbled big-market franchise, downing the New York Rangers, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

They had lost four straight games, six of seven overall and eight of their past 11 at home before coming up with their fifth four-or-more-goal performance of the campaign on home ice. The Rangers have dropped 10 of their past 12 decisions

In his 700th NHL game, Kevin Fiala scored a goal and engineered another for Andrei Kuzmenko. Adrian Kempe and Taylor Ward joined them in the goal column. Darcy Kuemper played nearly a period before sustaining an injury and giving way to Anton Forsberg, combining for 33 saves.

Time-on-ice leader Drew Doughty was a late scratch due to illness, leaving him and captain Anže Kopitar (lower-body injury) out of action in what might have been former Kings icon Jonathan Quick’s final appearance in Los Angeles.

J.T. Miller tallied twice for New York and Will Cuylle added a goal. Quick didn’t exactly turn back the clock to the glory days, coming up with 23 of 27 stops. The Blueshirts were without a Norris Trophy winner, Adam Fox, and a Vezina Trophy honoree, Igor Shesterkin, among others.

As expected, there was precisely zero sentimentality from Quick, who was the Conn Smythe winner during the Kings’ first Stanley Cup title run in 2012 and their starting goalie for their second in 2014 as well.

“(Los Angeles) was three teams ago, right? It’s special going back to Columbus and Vegas, the more recent teams,” Quick said, glossing over the facts that he played just 10 games for Vegas and none for Columbus. “Obviously, I appreciated the fans’ support here in L.A., while I was here, um, yeah.”

When asked about any letdown at not facing Kopitar or Doughty, he was perplexed.

“I don’t really get the question,” Quick quipped. “Am I disappointed they didn’t play? It’s a good team whether they’re in the lineup or not. It’s, uh, yeah.”

In the final frame, the Kings appeared to extend their edge when Corey Perry drove from the wall to the net front through three defenders, generating what appeared to be a follow-up finish for Alex Laferriere. Rangers coach Mike Sullivan alleged that Perry interfered with Quick, and an official review confirmed his stance.

Miller beat Forsberg six-on-five with 27 seconds left, adding intrigue to the finish, but the Kings held on to win.

They had gained separation in the second period, scoring both of the frame’s goals. They conserved that distance thanks to their penalty kill, which surmounted 96 seconds of two-man disadvantage.

“(The penalty kill) was probably the turning point in the game,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “The fans really got into it and really appreciated the efforts of (Forsberg) during that time.”

At the 4:23 mark, Braden Schneider got a stick on Jeff Malott’s centering feed, but the puck went straight to Ward. He snuck it through an upright Quick’s five hole for his first goal of the campaign and second of his career.

With 7:23 left in the period, the Kings cushioned their advantage. Fiala outbattled two Rangers for an offensive-zone recovery, got the puck back from Alex Turcotte and heaved a shot on net. The rebound came to Kuzmenko for a backhand goal, bringing him to double digits. Since Jan. 1, the Kings have outscored opponents 14-6 when Kuzmenko is on the ice.

The Kings scored their fastest goal of 2025-26, one that tied for the 18th-fastest in franchise history.

“It was nice to get one off early, and the rest of the team built off that as well,” Kempe said.

They took just 18 seconds to deposit the opening goal. Then they found themselves tied off a bad bounce at 8:18, reclaimed the lead 42 seconds later and were once again level for the final 3:26 of the first period.

Brandt Clarke initiated the sequence with a puck retrieval, passing to Perry, whose outlet went to Kempe. He hit the trailing Clarke, who one-touched a return pass to Kempe for his 17th goal of the season.

“(Clarke) did a great job joining [the rush], he made a great pass to me and it was an open net,” Kempe said.

Scott Morrow stickhandled his way into the high slot, ripping a shot that hit Kuemper squarely in the body. But the puck banked off Kuemper and hit both Jacob Moverare’s skate and Cuylle before entering the net.

Vladislav Gavrikov, who bolted in free agency over the summer, returned to his old stomping grounds for the first time and picked up an assist for his new team and an unwelcome one for his former cohorts as well. After the Rangers won a defensive-zone faceoff, Fiala pickpocketed Gavrikov, taking the puck right off his blade, and stickhandled his way into his team-topping 18th goal.

The Rangers equalized off a cycle play where Mika Zibanejad found Miller in front. Miller has eight points in his past four games.

In the final minute of the period, the Kings lost Kuemper for the night. As Cody Ceci broke up a centering pass intended for Jonny Brodzinski, Brodzinski turned and made high contact on Kuemper with his hip. Kuemper was relieved by Forsberg and headed down the tunnel.

“(Forsberg) was excellent. He probably saved the game,” said Hiller, saying he spoke with Kuemper briefly and would know more about his condition on Wednesday.