The Rangers and Red Wings played another entertaining, low-scoring game on Friday Night.  Detroit ultimately prevailed in the shootout, 3-2.  Like the last time these teams met, Henrik Lundqvist and Jimmy Howard were a big part of the story.  This time however, the referees played a major role as well, adding drama and intrigue to this midseason matchup.

A questionable call on Brendan Smith (an illegal check to the head was called, when replays showed there was no contact to the head) sucked all the momentum from the Rangers as they pushed for a go-ahead goal in the third period.  Marc Staal also committed a tripping penalty with 1:20 remaining in the game, which bled into the overtime period.  Then the Rangers got a call, as Brady Skjei drew a penalty shot in overtime.  Unfortunately he couldn’t convert, and the game was decided in the coin-flip that is the shootout.

There was plenty of good news on this night, final score notwithstanding.  Vinni Lettieri scored his first NHL goal (.gif below), and the Rangers played another sound game defensively.  Per NaturalStatTrick.com’s data, they limited Detroit to just five high danger scoring chances at 5v5 the entire game.  The Rangers probably deserved a better fate, but they did earn a point, and now move on to face Buffalo in the Winter Classic on Monday.  On to the goals (thanks to Shayna Goldman for providing .gifs)…

Rangers 1, Detroit 0

Danny DeKeyser turns the puck over behind his own net, and an alert Jimmy Vesey pounces on it.  Vesey’s pass looks more like a wraparound attempt, which deflects off of Howard and right to David Desharnais, who buries it.

Rangers 1, Detroit 1

Andreas Athanasiou, Detroit’s version of Michael Grabner, flies down the ice and beats Nick Holden and Ryan McDonagh to Dylan Larkin’s alley-oop pass.  Holden does pretty well to recover, but Athanasiou stays strong on his stick and is able to flip the puck over Lundqvist’s shoulder.  it’s tempting to try and assign blame to a Rangers defenseman on this play, but it really is just a great individual effort by Athanasiou.

Rangers 2, Detroit 1

What a moment for Vinni Lettieri.  Not seen in the .gif above, he started this play with a smart bank pass off the boards to enable the Rangers to exit their defensive zone.  Boo Nieves cuts back to buy some time and space, and puts the puck on Lettieri’s stick.  Lettieri didn’t have much time to pick a spot, but his quick release was more than good enough to beat Howard.

Rangers 2, Detroit 2

Boo Nieves unfortunately evened out his ledger with a bad turnover inside the Rangers defensive blue line.  Henrik Zetterberg came in on a partial breakaway and scored on his own rebound.

Frans Nielsen scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout.

Score-Adjusted Corsi

This was a fairly even game throughout in terms of shot quantity.  Detroit mounted their biggest push after tying the game in the second period.  The Rangers were dominant in the third period at even strength.  That penalty call on Brendan Smith really ended any chance they had to win this game in regulation.

Scoring Chances (not score-adjusted)

Jimmy Howard was excellent in this game, as the Rangers had several chances in close to extend their lead, or grab a late winner.

It would have been nice to beat the Red Wings, as the Rangers have a tough and road-heavy schedule ahead of them.  That said, this was the second game in a row where the Rangers outplayed their opponent, and for the most part did a decent job defensively in front of their goaltender.  Now, the scene shifts to CitiField, and a frigid outdoor game against Buffalo.

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