The New York Rangers Showcase That Road Warrior Mentality in Minnesota (Highlights)

Brady Skjei and the New York Rangers continued to showcase that road warrior mentality with a victory in Minnesota against the Wild.

• New York Rangers 3 (45-24-3, 93 pts)
• Minnesota Wild 2 (43-21-6, 92 pts)
• NHL, Final, Box Score
• Excel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota[sc name=”Rangers Center Right” ]

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]orget a few good games. Forget a few good weeks or months. The following is now a fact cemented in stone.

The New York Rangers are the NHL’s best road team.

With a record of 26-9 away from Madison Square Garden, their closest competition on the road comes in the form of the Chicago Blackhawks who boast a road mark of 23-11-1. These Blueshirts happened to pick up their 26th road victory on Saturday night in Minnesota, a place many Rangers used to call home.

Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh and Brady Skjei all hail from the hockey-loving state and Skjei, especially, enjoyed the homecoming. In the first period with his team down 1-0 early, the young defenseman took a beautiful pass from Mats Zuccarello and buried his fourth of the season on a wicked slap shot:

Brady Skjei ties the game while playing at home. 1-1 game. #NYR pic.twitter.com/6ANIffwNBQ

— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) March 18, 2017

New York then broke the 1-1 tie 7:46 into the second frame thanks to a hardworking effort by Rick Nash, J.T. Miller and Oscar Lindberg:

I'll tell you what … J.T. Miller might be a better passer than Mats Zuccarello. 2-1 after this Oscar Lindberg goal. #NYR pic.twitter.com/P5DgYXLmLu

— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) March 19, 2017

With under three minutes to go in the same frame, Jimmy Vesey collected his 15th of his rookie season:

Here's @19Vesey's 🚨! https://t.co/HIXW1iEzSJ

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 19, 2017

It was evenly played matchup throughout against a tough squad in the Wild. Devan Dubnyk stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced while Antti Raanta, who picked up the win, denied 25-of-27.

The goal scorers for Minny were Matt Dumba and former Ranger Eric Staal.

With 93 points, the Rangers are still locked, comfortably, in that No. 4 spot in the Metropolitan Division and No. 1 wild card spot in the east. Next up will be the crosstown New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on Tuesday night.

#NYR come off the ice following the win in Minny! https://t.co/3mfedyua0p

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 19, 2017

"It’s my hometown team, so, it was a dream come true." – @BradySkjei on scoring back home in Minnesota in tonight's #NYR win. https://t.co/2yLcVY9j1Y

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 19, 2017

#Duuuuubs 😱 pic.twitter.com/bRxq8UqzfE

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 18, 2017

Eric Staal with his 24th goal of the season 🙌 #NYRvsMIN pic.twitter.com/mZuB2zZRpu

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 18, 2017

With that @Matt_Dumba PPG, @Wellsfargo has donated $500 to @MinnHockey 🙌 #NYRvsMIN pic.twitter.com/zQU6NDuU67

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 19, 2017

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