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
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
— Elite Sports NY (@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
— Elite Sports NY (@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 ?! pic.twitter.com/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! pic.twitter.com/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. pic.twitter.com/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