Henrik Lundqvist has finally put his Joe Louis Arena blues behind him as he and his New York Rangers defeated the Red Wings 1-0 in overtime.
New York Rangers 1 (30-16-1, 61 pts)
Detroit Red Wings 0 (20-19-8, 48 pts)
NHL, Final, Box Score
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Both the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings played a bland, defensive brand of hockey that saw a scoreless game head into overtime. That was, until, Brady Skjei made one nice hustle play on the defensive end of the ice.
Skjei intercepted the pass and cleared it right to a cherry-picking Mats Zuccarello (who had previously fallen down). With J.T. Miller joining the rush while making it a clear 2-on-0 situation, Wings goalie Jared Coreau had no shot:
?Here is the OT game winner by J.T. Miller off the sweet feed from Zucc! ? pic.twitter.com/7GTPtJWTC6
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2017
While beaten on that play, Coreau was excellent all day. He stopped all 18 regulation shots he faced.
Lundqvist stopped all 21 shots on his net and felt pretty good about the outcome considering his most recent struggles, via AP.
“The defense was really structured in front of me, and I was able to take advantage of that,” he said. “In these last two games, I’ve tried to keep the puck in front of me and stay patient. That’s what I had gotten away from.”
For the first time in awhile, Alain Vigneault‘s defense showcased a disciplined, structured style of play. While boring, this is the element New York has lacked for most of the season.
“The defense was really structured in front of me, and I was able to take advantage of that,” he said. “In these last two games, I’ve tried to keep the puck in front of me and stay patient. That’s what I had gotten away from.”
Both Thomas Vanek and Kevin Hayes were injured at some point during the first period and did not return.
OFFICIAL: #NYR Kevin Hayes suffered a lower body injury in the second period and will not return.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2017
Up next will be the Los Angeles Kings as the Rangers return to Madison Square Garden for a Monday night showdown.
#NYR @HLundqvist30 earned his 20th win in 16-17 & is the first goalie in @NHL history with at least 20 wins in each of his first 12 seasons. pic.twitter.com/ozAO41rdkZ
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2017
"It was a defensive battle and we found a way to get the two points." – @DerekStepan21after today's #NYR OT win in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/AJq84lswXm
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2017
Watch J.T. talk about his GWG in OT for #NYR today against the Red Wings. pic.twitter.com/7SWGYi9YXo
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2017
#NYR lead the NHL in road wins this season (17). Get more stats from today's game in Postgame Notes: https://t.co/LXw0wHjstF pic.twitter.com/nmBWmqZvL6
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2017
