A very tight game ended in victory for the New York Rangers Sunday afternoon. They played a scoreless regulation against the Detroit Red Wings sending things in overtime where T.J. Miller scored the lone game winner at Joe Louis Arena winning 1-0.
The Red Wings return home puts them under the pressure of maintaining a winning streak on home ice. The loss to the Buffalo Sabres Friday brought an end to their overall streak but not to their success in Detroit. They take on the New York Rangers in an early matinee showing that they could use to their advantage. Detroit’s second win at home this past week came against the Montreal who they handled well under the circumstances. If their mindset can regroup to the reality of it, the Red Wings could keep their five points game streak alive.
Offense was light from both teams each getting a shot on goal in the first six minutes of the period. It picked up during the opening power play for the Rangers who got their shots at Jared Coreau in net for Detroit. A block by the Red Wings on Pavel Buchnevich allowed them to go on a four man play with the puck. A shot from Detroit hit the post and got loose near the net for a second chance. The opportunity was shut down by the Rangers defense who didn’t see the end of Detroit’s rush.
Niklas Kronwall took one more shot at New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist but couldn’t get enough speed on the puck. It moved the Red Wings ahead on shots seeing many scoring chances that had Lundqvist all over the puck but at times being left vulnerable. Detroit gained a man advantage with five minutes left but they were unable to get anything from the power play.
They did better scaring the Rangers on even strength where Tomas Vanek almost had his team out front but was denied by the goal post. More shots and scoring chances came for the Red Wings but getting one in the net never came for them. They outshot New York 7-3 showing plenty of action that hoped to continue on in the game.
The second opened with Detroit and New York getting back to back penalties where nothing came of their man advantages. Returning to even strength didn’t produce much leaving the teams each with trouble breaking the opposing goaltenders. A third try for the Red Wings on the power play didn’t have the same moves as they had in the third with the Rangers doing well on the penalty kill.
New York got a power play on Mike Green’s penalty that saw them inching close to breaking on the scoreboard. Both Rick Nash and Chris Kreider had point blank shots on Coreau but the 25 year old netminder made good saves that helped kill off time on the power play. The teams continued to run level with one another recording six shots each through 16 minutes of play and still no goals scored.
The Rangers produced more time with the puck leading to Coreau doing work in the net. He faced Michael Grabner on a breakaway where the forward wristed a shot at the net but the six foot six goaltender made a great save on it that left the game at status quo through two periods. New York edged Detroit on shots to the net in the period but were still down three overall.
The third became a moment for either team to make a stance on ice and create a game change. The Rangers were coming in hard into the Detroit zone with Coreau moving all over to stay with the pace of the play. The Red Wings defense made the assist clearing the puck in order to reset. Detroit went back to their penalty kill to keep things inactive for New York despite its difficulty. After the return to even strength, Detroit made another rush that saw captain Henrik Zetterberg get set up in the crease for one timer. The pass came just a little late for Lundqvist to get ready for the stop.
Coreau continued to match is counterpart across the ice making huge saves through the game that projected the period to go into overtime if neither broke from their roles. Six minutes remained in the game with Detroit still out front on shots to the net but the shutouts for Lundqvist and Coreau remained tested.
The shots were once again dead even at five each with just a minute left on the clock determining whether a goal would come or if the game would go into overtime. The Red Wings were briefly on the puck going for a shot but were blocked. The Rangers took off on offense but saw Detroit there to stop them. A fight for control saw the last seconds of time come off the clock forcing a five minute period to come into play with 3 on 3 action.
It came down to the breaks in the period with Dylan Larkin pushing along with the Detroit captain. Despite the attempts to set up a play with Mike Green on the line, the Red Wings couldn’t get back out front with the Rangers play solid defense. They gained their opportunities as well but saw the same actions from their opponents.
After another fight for puck possession, New York picked up the puck and ran with Matts Zuccarello on the hunt. He came in on angle at Coreau before faking a shot making the pass to Miller. The Rangers forward found enough time and room for a one-timer scoring the goal just 1:56 into the overtime period ending the stalemate and the game.
Despite the loss for Detroit, it was an incredible performance for both goaltenders combining for 39 shots with Lundqvist stopping 21 getting the win for his 20th of the season and second shutout. Coreau made 18 on the day with a .947 save percentage which was nothing to frown about. His performance overall was enough to see him back in the net in the coming days. The Red Wings would decide on that when they prepare for another outing back east to face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
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