In their final game of the year at the Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers had Mats Zuccarello to thank for after he picked the perfect time to net his first overtime goal in nearly five years.
The Rangers got a much-needed win on Tuesday over the Anaheim Ducks after Zuccarello scored a power play goal at 2 minutes, 37 seconds of overtime. The final score was 3-2, and the Rangers must have been relieved to end their last home game of the year with a morale-boosting win.
“I think we deserved it today, it’s nice to get 2 points again,” said the understated Zuccarello, who last scored in extra time in January 2011, when he notched the first goal of his NHL career to beat Carolina.
Thanks to Zuccarello, the team’s current top goal scorer, the Rangers have now won only four of their last 15 games.
It was also a great night out for Henrik Lundqvist who made 17 saves — a great improvement after the Swede was pulled after conceding five goals in two periods during the 7-3 hammering at the hands of Washington on Sunday.
Derick Brassard scored twice and provided an assist for a team that entered the game on a 3-9-2 slide.
Zuccarello now has 15 goals this season and was set up by Dan Boyle. The win puts the Rangers (20-12-4) ahead of the Islanders in second place in the Metropolitan Division by a solitary point as the league heads for a Christmas break.
Earlier, Anaheim’s Rickard Rakell had leveled proceedings after scoring on a long shot from the left wing that eluded Lundqvist’s reach at 17:06 of the third period, sending the crowd into delirium and the contest into extra time.
“It was a must-win for us for so many reasons,” said Lundqvist, who improved to 16-9-3. “It was a very tight game and hard to create any chances.”
Corey Perry had given the visiting team a 1-0 lead at 11:16 of the first period, but the lead wouldn’t last. Brassard scored an unassisted goal at 17:50 after he intercepted a clearing pass by defenseman Josh Manson and whipped the puck beyond goaltender John Gibson.
Brassard and linemate Zucarrello would later team up after another giveaway by the Ducks in the third period put the team 2-1 ahead. This was Brasssard’s 13th goal of the season.
Ahead of the game, the Rangers were prioritizing on their defense, which was not a surprise, considering they had already conceded 17 goals in their last three games.
“There’s no doubt that with the number of goals we gave up in the last few games, there was a real strong focus on playing better team defense,” Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault said. “I thought we played the right way.”
And even though they conceded a goal late in the game against a weak offensive side, which forced overtime, the Rangers were understandably happy to have finally broken their hoodoo.
“That was a lot better than the past games, obviously,” Brassard said. “We competed hard, we made some good plays.”
And Lundqvist says that the Christmas break comes at a right time for his team.
“It’s been a lot of hockey, traveling and a lot of games,” he said. “I think it’s the perfect time for us to get away from it a little bit.”
The game was also a return for Ducks’ Carl Hagelin, who spent four years with the Rangers.
“It may be kind of weird first couple of shifts; after that you’re in it,” Hagelin said. “These are guys I battled in practice. It shouldn’t be too awkward.”
Be the first to comment on "Rangers bailed out by Mats Zuccarello"