New York Rangers Reach New Franchise Record in Minnesota
95. Final. 2. 98. 3
FIRST PERIOD: The New York Rangers stole the early lead at 2:09 when Carl Hagelin (17) ripped a shot that D-Man Dodging Dominic Moore (7) deflected past Minnesota Wild goalie, Devan Dubnyk. The first penalty of the game went to Wild’s Justin Fontaine for high sticking at 14:15. The Rangers were able to capitalize when Rick Nash (41) also scored on a deflection 22 seconds into the PP, Derick Brassard (41) and Ryan McDonagh (21) assisting. A huge chance for the Wild to catch up evolved after Chris Kreider was penalized for tripping at 17:40. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Henrik Lundqvist appeared to be in the zone as he allowed zero goals for the opposition. The Blueshirts looked crisp, up 2-0 in the first but were outshot by the Wild, 9-6 that period.
New York Rangers
SECOND PERIOD: The Rangers soon found out that deflections can work for or against you when Jason Pominville (17) redirected the puck past the King, Matt Dumba (6) and Mikael Granlund (28) collecting the assists at 5:24. With the Rangers lead cut in half, momentum shifted to favor Minnesota. 4-on-4 play ensued after consecutive penalties on Hagelin and Thomas Vanek for tripping and interference, respectively, were called. The penalties were then piled onto the Wild team when Kyle Brodziak was sent to the box for knighting Zucc’s helmet with a high stick at 11:13. A while later, J.T. Miller took another one for the team when he was caught in the nose with a high stick, drawing a 4-minute penalty on Ryan Suter. Shortly after, the puck flew into the crowd off a Minnesota stick and the refs made the right call putting the Rangers on the two-man advantage. Although the opportunity couldn’t knock at the door any louder when one of the Wild’s twigs broke into two, the Rangers fanned on the immense power play. This period ended with the Rangers holding the edge on SOG, 10-8, and still hanging onto the lead at 2-1.
THIRD PERIOD: Minnesota shifted into high gear, giving Rangers defense no rest between whistles. Shots were fired relentlessly at Lundqvist and the puck eventually found its way across the line as Hank was unable to recover after a rebound. With that, Vanek (21) tied the game at 14:15, Dumba (7) and Fontaine (21) tallying assists. Less than a minute later, it was Miller time as McDonagh (22) fired at the net and Miller (10) deflected the puck in, Chris Kreider (22) with the other assist. Minnesota kept the pressure on but Lundqvist was back in the zone. The Rangers got smarter with the puck, making plays and keeping possession. They managed to find their legs again, keeping the puck deep in Minnesota zone. In the final minutes, Nash hustled down the ice to negate icing and the whole team made a great effort to hold on til the final buzzer. Rangers won 3-2, their 26th win on the road: a franchise record. They were almost even in shots, down 11-10 to the Wild, while down in face-offs, 37-21.
STARS OF THE GAME:
1- Henrik Lundqvist, 28 saves
2- Ryan McDonagh, 2 assists
3- Matt Dumba, 2 assists
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