DETROIT, MI — In an exhilarating overtime game, the New York Rangers were able to pull away with the 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings. It was the trade deadline acquisition Andrew Copp who scored the game-winner, taking a beautiful Artemi Panarin pass and ripping it into the net for his 15th goal of the season. The assist was Panarin’s team-leading 62nd of the year.
The Rangers have now won four in a row and are getting hot as the playoffs loom in the near future.
Tied 3-3 going into the third period, Detroit forward Adam Erne took matters into his own hands. After getting in the way of teammate Marc Staal’s shot on goal, Erne took the deflection and buried it into the net to give the Red Wings a one-goal lead in the third period. The goal was his fifth of the year.
Chris Kreider answered with just four minutes left in the third period to tie the game at four goals apiece and send it to overtime. The goal was his 46th of the season and franchise-record tying 24th power-play goal.
Scoring Early and Often
Things got off hot, as there were a total of four goals in the first period. The first goal came off the stick of Ryan Reaves. He scored his third goal of the season to put the Rangers up 1-0.
The Rangers would soon be staring down a one-goal deficit after the Red Wings scored two of their own. Michael Rasmussen beat New York’s goalie Alexander Georgiev on a slap shot into the back of the net. It was Rasmussen’s ninth goal of the season and first in his last 13 games.
Forward Jakub Vrana was the one who gave the Red Wings a one-goal lead early, as he took advantage of the power-play. He flicked a wrist shot right past Georgiev’s glove for his seventh goal of the season.
The Red Wings were two for three on the power-play for the night, scoring their second power-play goal in the second. Tyler Bertuzzi ripped a screaming slap shot past Georgiev on a pass from Moritz Seider. The goal was Bertuzzi’s 26th and the assist was Seider’s team-leading 39th.
Panarin finished his night with a goal of his own as well as two assists, including the one that helped set up the game-winning goal. Panarin’s lone goal came in the second period to tie things at three.
Sloppy Goalplay But Solid Defense
The Red Wings’ NHL Rookie of the year candidate Seider continued to stake his name as one of the better young defensemen. Seider netted two assists in the game, pushing his point total to 44 on the year. The Red Wings have a lot to be optimistic about when it comes to this kid, he’s been special this year.
On the goalie side of things, Red Wings’ goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was unable to maintain a one-goal lead in the third period. He let up two goals in five minutes for the loss – one in the third and one in overtime.
Nedeljkovic finished the night having saved 29 of 24 shots as he has now gone winless in each of his last four starts. Over his last two games, Nedeljkovic has allowed 12 total goals.
For the Rangers, backup goalie Georgiev started out rough but was able to get things back under control. Georgiev picked up his second straight win, saving 22 of 26 shots on goal. The win was Georgiev’s 11th of the season.
Great goaltending has been the Rangers’ bread and butter thus far and it will be interesting to see how things play out come playoff time.
Next in Store
For the Detroit Red Wings (26-33-8), they’ll take on the Ottawa Senators (23-37-8) at home on Friday, April 1st. Although they are out of the playoff race, they’ll look to end their four-game losing streak and gain some momentum as they head into the off-season.
The New York Rangers (44-19-5) will take on the New York Islanders (29-27-9) at home in Madison Square Garden on April 1st at 7:00 p.m. The Rangers are right in the middle of the playoff race as they find themselves as the second seed in the Metropolitan Division.
