Rangers Defeat Wild in Overtime to End Losing Streak, Set Up Crucial Match Against Blue Jackets
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — After enduring a rough stretch of losses, the Rangers finally found their rhythm.
Braden Schneider’s overtime goal lifted the Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Wild on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center, snapping their four-game losing streak. The win came at the perfect time, as a Blue Jackets loss allowed the Rangers to tie Columbus at 70 points in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Schneider described his game-winning shot: “They drove the defense back, and I tried to take some middle ice. I immediately wanted to shoot it, brought it to my backhand, and just put it there. Luckily, it went in, and thankfully, it wasn’t goaltender interference.”
Although the Blue Jackets still have a game in hand, the Rangers now head into a key matchup in Columbus on Saturday. The Rangers are seeking redemption after a tough 7-0 loss to the Blue Jackets last weekend. A win on Saturday would push the Rangers ahead of Columbus and into playoff contention.
Thursday’s game wasn’t particularly eventful but was a well-played and efficient one for the Rangers. Head coach Peter Laviolette made adjustments to the top six, moving Alexis Lafrenière back to his natural left side with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad, while Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Will Cuylle formed a new line. This new trio had an impressive debut, outshooting the opposition 9-2 in regulation, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Trocheck opened the scoring in the second period, converting his own rebound to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 6:45. It was Trocheck’s 18th goal of the season and his first since February 7.
Laviolette explained the lineup changes: “We’re just a little bit snakebit right now. Sometimes you just change the scenery, move Laf back to the left side. I thought both lines were good.”
Minnesota answered with two power-play goals to tie the game. Marcus Johansson capitalized on a Matt Rempe interference penalty, scoring a slick wrist shot at 3:55 of the second period. Later, Jonny Brodzinski responded with a goal of his own, firing a shot past Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
Zac Jones was then penalized with a four-minute high-sticking call at 16:39 of the third period, which gave the Wild another power-play opportunity. Frédérick Gaudreau took advantage, scoring in front of Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (26 saves) to make it 2-2.
Laviolette expressed frustration with the penalties: “It’s unfortunate six minutes of penalties in the third period. The one on Rempe I don’t think is a penalty, and Jonesy’s was kind of an accidental high-sticking. But it is what it is. It ended up getting tied, but a big goal by Jonny to respond and put us back up 2-1.”
Overall, Laviolette praised his team’s effort: “It was a really good game. Guys played extremely hard. Got a big win, moving on.”
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