Wild n Out: NY Rangers top Minnesota Wild in the shootout

From the drop of the puck, the NY Rangers dominated the Minnesota Wild. It was a rare combination of an off night for Igor Shesterkin and two injuries up front, leaving the Rangers with just 10 forwards. While Shesterkin wasn’t necessarily at his best, it was the heroics of Marc-Andre Fleury that kept this game close.

The Rangers had to mount comebacks from 2-0 early and 3-2 late, and found ways to tie it and get two points. After a rough powerplay in overtime that failed to capitalize, it was the Shesterkin and Panarin show in the shootout. Panarin’s beautiful backhander and Shesterkin’s big save on Freddy Gauthier preserved the shootout win.

It was a strong game for the kids, with Alexis Lafreniere getting bumped to the top line following the injury to Chris Kreider. He, Mika Zibanejad, and Kaapo Kakko were dominant, and that line didn’t miss a beat when Kreider went down. Vitali Kravtsov had another strong game, and of course Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller both scored.

Overall, a big two points for the Rangers in a very winnable game.

Wild 1, Rangers 0

Jordan Greenway outmuscled Ben Harpur behind the net, gaining a step and giving him space to center the puck. That initial pass didn’t connect, but the puck ricocheted to Jon Merrill, who stepped up and beat a screened Igor Shesterkin. It wasn’t from a high danger area and the Rangers didn’t really have a positioning breakdown, but Shesterkin was screened and Harpur getting outmuscled were the catalysts.

Wild 2, Rangers 0

Speed through the neutral zone against and no back check, which forced Jacob Trouba to back up. Can’t back up against Kirill Kaprizov.

Wild 2, Rangers 1

K’Andre Miller and Jimmy Vesey combined to force the Wild into a turnover at the blue line. Miller was a step ahead of the rest, beating Fleury with a beautiful shot.

Rangers 2, Wild 2

Mats Zucarello turned the puck over at the blue line, and Adam Fox did the rest. He did a good job looking pass, which froze Marc-Andre Fleury.

Wild 3, Rangers 2

Shesterkin wants this back.

Rangers 3, Wild 3

What a dominating shift by the Rangers, and it paid off. There’s no defensive breakdown by the Wild, just chaos in front off a beautiful move by Fox.