New York Rangers Win in Overtime Against Detroit Red Wings
FIRST PERIOD: The New York Rangers put significant pressure in the Detroit Red Wings defensive zone right from the start…and perhaps too much pressure; the first penalty went to the Rangers for too many men on the ice at 4:11. A penalty for Detroit occurred shortly after when Henrik Zetterberg was called for tripping at 5:23. Then something unbelievable happened: Derrick Brassard ripped a shot that deflected off of Rick Nash‘s BUTT and into the Detroit net for Nash’s first power play goal of the season, or as Pierre McGuire put it: an “unconventional goal from his bottom.” Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall drew a penalty at 7:56 for hooking. Then a penalty was called on Dominic Moore for punching goaltender Jonas Gustavsson in the mask at 10:58, aka goalie interference. Nevertheless, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist kept the puck out of the net for a successful penalty kill. The Red Wings had a shot off the pipe yet the first period ended with the Rangers with the one goal edge. The Rangers outshot Detroit, 10-8.
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SECOND PERIOD: Detroit picked up their offense going into the second, causing most of the action to shift to the Rangers defensive zone. Kevin Klein wound up on his stomach in the Rangers net and prevented the puck from crossing the line, thus giving Detroit a penalty shot. The refs made a call upstairs to determine whether or not the puck actually crossed the line in the chaos, and it was decided that there was no goal. Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist took center ice for the penalty shot, yet Lundqvist was able to deflect a rising shot. A sloppy change by the Red Wings was capitalized on by Matt Hunwick who passed to Martin St. Louis for the 2-0 lead at 6:39, the other assist credited to Mike Kostka (wow!). A 4-on-4 play ensued due to penalties on Rangers’ Carl Hagelin and Red Wings’ Justin Abdelkader for slashing and cross checking respectively at 7:38. The teams were then back to full strength but not for long when Rangers’ Conor Allen headed to the box for a tripping penalty at 10:07 . With seconds left in the Detroit power play, a wrist shot from Jakub Kindl, assisted by Riley Sheahan and Johan Franzen, cut the Rangers’ lead in half, 2-1. Immediately after, Dan Cleary seemed to score a goal in the Rangers net at 12:18, yet the refs waived it off. Under review of the supposed no-goal, the puck clearly crossed the line and hit net and thus the goal was awarded, tying the game to two apiece and setting the clock back to 7:45 left in the period. In response, the Blueshirts stepped up their offense big time, keeping the puck in the Red Wings defensive zone and barraging the net with shot after shot until Detroit goalie Gustavsson was finally was able to hold on to the puck with a glove save on Nash. A delayed call on St. Louis for hooking at 19:36 gave Detroit a power play going into the third. The score was left tied at 2-2 while Rangers led in shots on goal again, 10-7.
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THIRD PERIOD: Rangers Zuccarello, St. Louis and Duclair missed early opportunities in the third. Red Wings’ Dan DeKeyser received a high stick to the face from Hagelin and we saw blood on DeKeyser’s visor and on the ice but surprisingly no penalty was called. At 12:10, Dom Moore rushed down the slot and made a quick pass to Lee Stempniak for a goal and the lead at 3-2 (Chris Kreider with the other assist). Hagelin was seen on the bench hurting from a hit to the head, another uncalled penalty, most likely payback from Detroit for the high stick to DeKeyser’s face. Gustavsson left the net with less than three minutes left. St Louis was called for hooking while embellishment was called on Abdelkader at 18:12. On the 4-on-4 and Detroit still with the EN, Rangers looked like they would be able to keep the lead. However with less than 10 seconds left, Detroit’s Tomas Tatar scored on assists from Andrej Nestrasil and Kindl, tying the game 3-3 and crushing Rangers fans temporarily. SOG favored the Red Wings, 13-5.
OVERTIME: After a dry scrape of the ice, play was back on with the 4-on-4 (St. Louis and Staal still in the box). A tripping call on Pavel Datsyuk just 46 seconds in gave Rangers a key opportunity to win the game on the power play. St. Louis close to the net looked for a pass, faked out Gustavsson, and almost hit the top right corner. At 1:50, Derick Brassard found a loose puck off a rebound to win the game in OT for the Rangers, 4-3. The Blueshirts outshot the Red Wings at 5-0 in OT and won more face-offs overall, 29-28.
STARS OF THE GAME: Rick Nash, Matt Hunwick, and Derick Brassard