Rangers pull out win with Wild comeback
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We've got to work on some things here still and we have the next few days off to get things straightened out," said Zuccarello. "But our team effort in the third was unbelievable."
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We let this one slip away," Cooke said. "We're disappointed in ourselves."
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.