Kevin Klein scored at 1:59 of overtime, off a pretty 2-on-1 feed from Kevin Hayes, and the Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 22 shots, including two in overtime, to earn the shutout and the victory for New York.
It had appeared that the Rangers had taken a 1-0 lead 5:54 into the third period when a Kevin Hayes shot from behind the goal line on right wing bounced off Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard and into the cage. However the Red Wings challenged the on-ice call, claiming that Howard had been interfered with by Oscar Lindberg who accidentally had bumped into the goalie as he fell to the ice. After video review the goal was waved off, and the game remained scoreless.
The Rangers had another missed opportunity late in the third when Jesper Fast was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakaway with 5:25 remaining in regulation, but had his penalty shot attempt thwarted by Howard’s right pad.
Two minutes later a sprawling Howard robbed Fast off a 2-on-1 feed from Derick Brassard, and the game ultimately went to overtime still tied 0-0.
Neither team was able to take control of this game through the first two periods. Instead each club had its best moments and scoring chances contained to short bursts as both the Rangers and Red Wings largely played conservative games, almost waiting for the other to make a mistake.
New York outshot Detroit 12-10 in the first period and 9-7 in the second, with neither able to break through with a goal. Lundqvist was sensational in one flurry 6:36 into the middle period when he showed lightning-quick reflexes in making three point-blank saves in succession. Four minutes later he caught a break when Henrik Zetterberg clanged a shot off the post after a pretty feed from Pavel Datsyuk.
At the other end of the ice Howard–who has lost his starting job to Petr Mrazek and was winless since December 3–also benefited from a shot finding iron when Dan Girardi hit the post just 3:41 into the game. His best stops came a minute apart in the second period when he denied Chris Kreider point blank with a pad save at 12:19 and then followed by shrugging away a Kevin Hayes power play shot from left wing with his shoulder.
Howard started the third period with a strong pad save at 2:20 as Lindberg drove hard to the net to one time a slick Viktor Stalberg centering pass. Then midway through the period Howard somehow managed to squeeze the pads to rob Jesper Fast on a perfect deflection from the low slot.
Both teams had chances to score the game-opening goal on the power play in the third period, but neither was able to. The Rangers killed off penalties to Tanner Glass and Dan Girardi in the third period–and were a perfect 4-for-4 on the PK overall Sunday–while they also failed on a power play of their own at 7:27 of the third, finishing the night 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Already playing without the injured Ryan McDonagh and Rick Nash–the former after being on the receiving end of a hit to the head again Thursday in Toronto–the Rangers had a close call at the 3:31 mark of the period number two. Darren Helm of Detroit clipped J.T. Miller up high on fly by near the red line, spinning Miller to the ice as his stick went flying. The referees not only missed what happened, but eventually whistled the Rangers for a penalty at the end of the same shift.
Miller was slow to his feet, but shook off the hit and went looking for Helm, though officials intercepted him before he could reach Helm in the right wing corner in Detroit’s end of the ice.
Rookie forward Marek Hrivik made his NHL debut for the Rangers on Sunday night. Recalled from the Hartford Wolf Pack to replace the waived Daniel Paille, Hrivik played on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tanner Glass and also played on the penalty kill, paired up front with Glass.
