Game Recap: New York Rangers Rally in 3rd, Beat Minnesota Wild 5-4

The New York Rangers score 5 even strength goals in the third and beat the Minnesota Wild, 5-4

The Minnesota Wild began a two-game road swing tonight at Madison Square Garden where they took on the reigning Eastern Conference Champion New York Rangers. Despite being up 3-0 after two great periods of play, the Wild were unable to stave off a late rally by the home squad. The New York Rangers score 5 even strength goals in the third and beat the Minnesota Wild, 5-4. Erik Haula took a nasty shot to the head by repeat offender John Moore and did not return. Here are my thoughts on the game.

First Period:

All Minnesota Wild to open the game. Like we’ve seen since the opening of the regular season, a balanced speedy attack by the Wild generated plenty of chances. As has been the case recently, the Wild opened with the Thomas Vanek – Mikko Koivu– Charlie Coyle line to take on the Derick Brassard – Chris Kreider – Mats Zuccarello for the Rangers. These two lines seemed to match up for much of the game and matched up pretty well. Mikael Granlund had probably the best look for the Wild around 1:40 in, taking a drop pass that Henrik Lundqvist had to bobble near the crest of his sweater to get under control. Jason Pominville had a pretty good look, too.

Live Feed

Puck Prose

I was fairly underwhelmed with the first period all together. Zuccarello had probably the best scoring chance of the opening frame, which Darcy Kuemper caught in his trapper. Kuemper looked good early (keyword: early) and seemed to be in good form. Minnesota had better chances than New York overall, though. The Wild had some key takeaways, including one that kept the zone open for the Wild and led to Kevin Klein hooking Pominville. 21st power play of the season for the Wild! LUCKY 21, right?? Wrong. One shot on goal, one blocked shot. I’m thoroughly over talking about the power play, tonight. Someone will score a weird tip-in that dribbles through the pads of an unsuspecting goalie. It’ll happen folks. Put down your torch and pitchforks.

Now, at the end of the first, (19:44) Chris Kreider of the Rangers put a nasty, nasty boarding hit on Jonas Brodin which sent him flying face first in to the boards. Brodin went straight to the dressing room for medical evaluation.  Kreider took a game misconduct and a major penalty for boarding. 16 seconds of PP time for the Wild to end the first followed by 4:44 to open the middle frame. Play fundamentally expired with very little happening to end the first. Brodin would return to the line-up by the second frame.

Next: Chris Kreider Will Not Face Discipline For Hit on Jonas Brodin

Shots After One Period: Minnesota Wild 13, New York Rangers 5

Second Period:

The Wild had a full intermission to devise a brilliant power play that would finally end the apprehension surrounding their power play.  Koivu won the opening face-off, which was rare today. Two minutes of sustained offensive zone pressure yielded only one thing: an injury to Zach Parise. Parise was fighting for a loose puck along the board, fell to his knees, and took Marc Staal‘s stick to his face. He bled everywhere causing a stoppage in play. No penalty, though. I’m also not entirely sure one would be called even if the referee saw the whole thing. 4 shots on goal for the Wild on the major power play, as great sustained zone pressure yielded nothing.

Nate Prosser

opened scoring for the Wild on a play completely created by

Justin Fontaine

. Fontaine’s poise was incredible; holding on to the puck until two Rangers defenseman crowded him. From there, a pass to Prosser through traffic landed on his stick and Prosser slid it past Lundqvist for his 4th career goal.

1-0 Wild at 5:29.

See Fontaine’s awesome playmaking abilities for yourself. I like that kid.

This is another great example of the defenseman jumping in on the rush lately.

Less than a minute later, Matt Cooke put the Wild up by a pair. Coming off the bench, he cruised in to the offensive zone uncovered and buried home a pass from Ryan Carter. Cooke also had an assist on Prosser’s goal. That fourth line is good, with Zucker’s Cookie Cart generating two goals against Tampa Bay and the first two goals of this game. 2-0 Wild at 06:24

After two goals in under a minute, the New York Rangers seemed to get sloppy. John Moore put his elbow directly in to Erik Haula’s head. From every angle I can see, this was an intentional hit to the head during an offensive rush by the Wild. Haula left the game and did not return. Moore got a match penalty and a major for the hit. Haula went to the dressing room and didn’t return. More on that later.

More from Wild News

• Defenseman Matt Dumba signs one-year contract with Arizona
• Minnesota Wild reach agreement with Brandon Duhaime on one-year contract
• Minnesota Wild receive mixed grades for picks in NHL Entry Draft
• Minnesota Wild draft heavy on centers and home-state selections
• Minnesota Wild open regular season at home against Stanley Cup Finalist

On to the second major power play for the Wild.  I only counted two shots on goal for the Wild, and one shorthanded attempt by the Rangers. That was the Ranger’s first shot on goal in the second period

Parise would return to the ice about 14:00 in to the second with A LOT of stitches.

Pominville got his 3rd of the year thanks to a great set-up by

Mikael Granlund

and

Marco Scandella

. All three goals by the Wild this frame beat Lundqvist low and to his glove side.

3-0 Wild at 15:38.

See for yourself.

Nino Niederreiter took an unsportsmanlike conduct minor shortly after the Pominville goal, which the Wild killed, allowing only one shot. I think Kuemper got a little too comfortable through two periods. Repeatedly, including on the penalty kill, he would come out of the crease to challenge the Rangers. Eventually, It would bite him.

Minnesota closed out the middle frame with some zone pressure that went nowhere. The Wild would escape to the locker room up 3-0. Looking like a blow-out by a hot start Wild team, fans seemed to get comfortable. Would the Wild get too comfortable after scoring 10 goals in 100 minutes?

Shots After Two Periods: Minnesota Wild 24, New York Rangers 8

Third Period:

The New York Rangers are good, you guys. We knew the Rangers would come out swinging.

Kevin Klein would put the Rangers on the board early. Mats Zuccarello set Up Klein for a one-timer from the top of the slot. Through traffic, it slipped past Kuemper. 3-1 Wild at 02:52. Rick Nash, who’s started the season out on fire, got the second assist. The Wild looked like they were resting on their laurels. Brodin coughed up the puck and looked to scramble for it as Zuccarello set up Klein.

Live Feed

Eyes On Isles

Speaking of Rick Nash, his 9th goal of the young season would bring the Rangers to within one. Parise and Granlund had just failed to convert a two-on-one. After a line change, Kuemper came out to challenge Matt Hunwick, coughed up a poor rebound and Nash dropped it home. 3-2 Wild at 4:48. Rick Nash is great this season.

At this point, I’m nervous. The Wild looked, flaccid, uninterested in maintaining the lead, and comfortable. Then, to the rescue comes Jason Zucker. The fourth-line winger who leads the Wild in goals with four puts the Wild back up by a pair. Playing with Niederreiter and Coyle, Zucker deflected a Niederreiter blast past Lundqvist’s glove. 4-2 Wild at 5:35.

All the Wild have to do is maintain their 2-goal lead for 15 minutes missing only one player. Erik Haula did not return.

Goals by Derick Brassard in the 7th minute followed by rookie Anthony Duclair and Mats Zuccarello in the 16th minute put the Rangers up 5-4 by 16:49. 3 goals allowed  by the Wild in less than 9 minutes. 5 goals allowed by the Wild in less than 17 minutes after giving up 6 Goals all season. All five were even strength. Kuemper allowed 5 goals on 12 shots in one period after surrendering only 4 goals in 5 and 2/3rd games.The Wild fell apart miserably. An empty net for the Wild with under one minute left yielded one shot. Game over, Wild fall to the New York Rangers 5-4 after allowing 5 goals in the final frame. 

Final Shots on Goal: Minnesota Wild 30, New York Rangers 20

Trembley’s Take:

I’ve been spoiled this season. The Wild’s losses have been close and unavoidable so I haven’t had to be very critical. Today is different. The Wild should’ve cruised to a victory. Instead, they lost without even an OT point. I’d say it’s not fair, but they earned this loss.

Kuemper had a rough night, but I think he needed it. He played as loose as the team in front of him and gave up a couple easy goals. I think Kuemper gets the start tomorrow if simply to shake off poor play.

With the exception of Matt Cooke, Ryan Carter, and Nate Prosser, every single Wild skater had a positive corsi for percentage. The Wild had 54 shot attempts (24 blocked or missed) compared to only 31 for the New York Rangers (11 blocked or missed) Once again, the Wild outplayed their opponent and lost. The Rangers, despite being a good team, didn’t win, the Wild lost. Speaking of fancy statistics, Mats Zuccarello was the only Ranger with a positive Corsi for at 59%.

Cooke had a goal and an assist. Prosser had a goal, and Carter had an assist. They were still in the negative for Corsi

Zucker is now two goals ahead of Parise and Pominville for scoring leader with five goals.

Moore will undoubtedly be suspended by the NHL. He’s a repeat offender with a history of nasty hits. I’ve sen defense of Moore on Twitter, arguing that the primary point of contact is Haula’s chest and that he dove. This is a poor argument. Haula didn’t return to the game, Kyle Brodziak is slated to play in Boston, and Moore slowed down and turned toward Haula before delivering a hit. Malicious hit by a guy that’s starting to make a career of those.

I’d imagine it’s 5-6 games of suspension for Moore. UPDATE: Moore will have an in-person hearing with the DPS this week, which means suspension of greater than five games. You can read more on that in Dustin’s article, links below.

Next: John Moore Will Have Hearing For Hit on Erik Haula

The Wild were out-hit 23-10. Overall, the Wild were 36% on the face-off circle. Koivu only won half of his draws.

Loose play loses games, plain and simple. 15 hours from now, the Wild take on the Boston Bruins. I sincerely hope this is nothing more than a bad memory by tonight.

I’ll live tweet the game, so give me a follow there. Talk to you tomorrow, Wild fans.