*Photo from the Star Tribune*
Everything was shaping up to have a good conclusion to a special night. Until Hockey happened. Mats Zuccarello scored, Kevin Fiala scored, and the Minnesota Wild rallied to defeat the New York Rangers with a 3-2 win on Friday night in New York City.
It's another win for the Wild, who have a 7-0-1 record in their last 8 games, good for an 8 game point streak. They were led by Fiala and Zuccarello, who each recorded a goal and an assist, extending their own point streaks to 10 games. The Wild were trailing 2-0 in the first period, only to roar back and score 3 unanswered goals to win the game.
Starting in goal for the Wild was Cam Talbot, a former teammate of Henrik Lundqvist, who made sure to spoil the party at Madison Square Garden. Talbot turned aside 25 of the 27 shots he faced from the Rangers, posting a .926 save percentage to win in his old home, with his record improving to a 17-8-1 mark on the season.
Zuccarello said of the slow start leading to a late win that "You've been sitting on the bench for a long time. They had their legs, and they came out and they played yesterday, so just settle down and then get into the game. We got the first period either way, and then I think we took over and were the best team the last two periods."
Before the game began, Lundqvist had his number 30 retired and raised to the rafters at Madison Square Garden in an amazing ceremony put on by the Rangers. It was a fitting tribute to the man known as King Henrik, who had to retire before the start of the season due to a heart condition that saw him undergo open heart surgery after the 2019-2020 season.
During the game, the Rangers drew first blood, with Barclay Goodrow scoring 8:47 into the game, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead on his 10th goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Strome and Jacob Trouba. Chris Kreider then doubled the lead to 2-0, scoring his 31st goal of the season at the 17:08 mark, giving the Rangers a two goal lead after one period.
In the second period, Fiala got the Wild going, converting his 12th goal of the season at the 12:18 mark, cutting the deficit in half, assisted by Jordie Benn and Ryan Hartman. On the power play 13:47 into the second, Zuccarello scored his 13th goal of the season, tying things up 2-2. Frederick Gaudreau scored 1:49 into the 3rd period to give the Wild a 3-2 win.
Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren said of the loss that "We've got to play a full 60. It seems like we start off well some nights and then we go to sleep a little bit in the second, or vice versa. It's key in this league to play a full 60. When you get out to those leads you've got to make sure you're playing smart and not letting teams get back into it. It's definitely something we've got to clean up."
Getting the start in goal was the heir apparent to Lundqvist, Igor Shesterkin. He sure did have a nice game, stopping 31 of the 34 shots on goal the Wild flung at him, posting a .912 save percentage to keep the Rangers in it. With the loss, Shesterkin's record drops to 20-5-2 on the season.
The Rangers had a chance to tie the game late in the 3rd, with a shot with one second left crossing the goal line, which would have tied the game. I say would have because the official immediately waved off the goal, citing goalie interference. On further review, Strome pushed Talbot's pad over the goal line, which allowed the puck to cross the goal line, which led to the goalie interference call, thus costing the Rangers a game tying goal.
Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said "I obviously don't agree with the call at the end of the game. Can't say much more than that. I don't want to go into it, to be honest with you. It just honestly stinks that we couldn't end the night on a better note, especially with the way it started, the whole ceremony, seeing him, seeing his family, and just listening to that crowd really. It was a night I'll never forget."
Up next, the Wild head to Long Island for a Sunday contest with the New York Islanders, where Talbot figures to start between the pipes. The Rangers are set to host the Seattle Kraken on Sunday afternoon, with Shesterkin likely to start.
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