Wild again find goals hard to come by, fall in overtime to Rangers
Published in Hockey
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild’s scoring slump is once again costing them.
They were stumped, 3-2 in overtime Thursday at Xcel Energy Center by a struggling Rangers team that had dropped four in a row.
In the Wild’s six losses over their past nine games, they’ve been held to one or two goals; their two defeats prior were both shutouts.
Even the Wild’s most recent victory Tuesday was the less-is-more variety, with the team eking by the Avalanche 2-1 in a shootout after goaltender Filip Gustavsson was airtight until late in the third period.
He returned locked in vs. New York, the game-winner not getting by him until Braden Schneider sent in a backhander at 1 minute, 50 seconds of 3-on-3 overtime after the Wild converted twice on the power play to overcome 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in the third period.
After Marcus Johansson delivered the first equalizer 3:55 into the third, the Rangers regained the lead at 6:37 when Jonny Brodzinski flipped the puck by Gustavsson’s glove from outside the circles. Frederick Gaudreau responded 2:03 later after Johansson was bleeding from a high stick, putting the Wild on a four-minute power play.
Gustavsson finished with 29 saves, while Igor Shesterkin had 26.
Since goals started to become scarce with those back-to-back shutouts by the Bruins and Senators at the beginning of February, this was one of the most lackluster showings by the Wild offense.
Unlike some of their other efforts, when they dominated the puck and probably deserved a better fate around the net, the Wild weren’t as dynamic and dangerous through the first two periods.
Actually, one of their best chances came from the fourth line in its most noticeable game since the Wild added forward Justin Brazeau from Boston on March 6 for forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round draft pick: Shesterkin blocked a one-timer from Brazeau set up by a pinching Brock Faber in the second.
New York, meanwhile, tested Gustavsson early and often.
A Will Cuylle attempt stuck to him like Velcro. Gustavsson was in position to prevent J.T. Miller from wrapping the puck around him. Then he made the first stop and denied the rebound on the Wild’s first penalty kill.
It took Vincent Trocheck collecting his own rebound after whiffing on the initial shot and sending his do-over between Gustavsson and the near post at 6:45 of the second for the Rangers to finally capitalize.
Trocheck’s goal also came amid traffic in front and while the Wild had only four players in the defensive zone for most of New York’s attack since the team was executing a line change.
Later in the second, the Wild committed two more penalties only three minutes apart and although the PK held off the Rangers power play, the Wild were on the defensive instead of concentrating play at the other end.
That changed in the third, when New York got in penalty trouble.
First, Johansson wired in a snapshot off the rush just before the Wild’s power play expired. Johansson’s goal, assisted on by Gustav Nyquist and captain Jared Spurgeon, was his first in 17 games.
After Brodzinski answered back, the Wild went back to the power play and that’s when Gaudreau accepted a Ryan Hartman pass with his back to the net, deked to his forehand and then buried the puck behind Shesterkin. Spurgeon picked up his second assist on the play.
The Wild went 2 for 4; they hadn’t received two goals from the power play since Jan. 15, when they fell 5-3 to the Oilers.
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