New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Mats Zuccarello’s goal with 3:11 to play
proved to be the winner as the New York Rangers scored five times in the third
period to edge the Minnesota Wild, 5-4, in an exciting game at Madison Square
Garden.
Zuccarello and Derick Brassard each posted a goal and two assists, Kevin Klein
and Rick Nash had a goal and a helper, while Anthony Duclair also scored for
the Rangers, who have won four of their last five games.
Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals on 30 shots in the victory.
Jason Tucker, Jason Pominville and Nate Prosser all scored, with Matt Cooke
giving a goal and an assist for the Wild, who had won their previous two.
Darcy Kuemper was tagged for all five goals on 20 shots.
The Wild led 3-0 going into the third, but the Rangers got a goal back just
2:52 in on a one-timer from Klein in the high slot with a screen in front.
It was a one-goal game less than two minutes later when Matt Hunwick threw a
shot on net that Kuemper stopped, but Nash was in front to backhand home the
rebound for his ninth of the season.
Minnesota answered less than a minute later to reestablish a two-goal
advantage when Nino Niederreiter shot the puck on net from the slot with
Zucker tipping it in.
The Rangers, though, kept storming back as Carl Hagelin rang a shot off the
crossbar and Brassard was there to clean it up at 7:54.
Duclair’s first NHL goal tied the game at 16:12 when he flew down the right
wing and his heavy shot trickled by Kuemper.
Just 37 seconds later, New York went on top for good as Zuccarello dumped the
puck in from the left wing and skated towards the net. Brassard picked the
puck up behind the net and sent it out front where Zuccarello one-timed it
home for the go-ahead goal.
From there, the Rangers and Lundqvist held the Wild off the board for the
hard-fought victory.
After a scoreless first period, the Wild went on top with three goals in the
second.
The first goal came at 5:29 as Prosser redirected a Justin Fontaine pass for
his first goal of the season.
Less than a minute later, Cooke made it a 2-0 game when he snapped in a
Fontaine pass for his second of the season.
Minnesota took a 3-0 lead into the second intermission when Mikael Granlund
sent a pass from the left boards to the right circle where Pominville wristed
it in.
Game Notes
New York defenseman John Moore and center Chris Kreider both received match
penalties. Moore boarded Jonas Brodin in the first period, while Kreider hit
Erik Haula in the head with an elbow in the second period. Brodin returned to
play, while Haula was out for the rest of the game … Minnesota forward Zach
Parise had to get stitches under his nose and part of his right cheek after
getting hit in the face by the stick of teammate Mikko Koivu early in the
second period … The Rangers host the Jets on Saturday … The Wild play in
Boston on Tuesday.
