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Rangers vs. Coyotes: Lundqvist Steals Two Points in 2-1 Shootout Victory

Rangers picked up two points on the road vs. the worst team in the NHL via a shootout.

The New York Rangers played one of their worst games of the season and found a way to pick up two points. That “way” was on the back of Henrik Lundqvist, an occurrence that has happened way too frequently than you would like this season.

Lundqvist made 38 saves on the evening, and extended his streak of finishing a game with a save percentage of .900 or better.

The Arizona Coyotes struck first, and a familiar face got on the board. After a questionable penalty was given to Kevin Shattenkirk for knocking off the net, Anthony Duclair tallied his ninth goal of the season.

After one period of play the Coyotes held a 11-8 shot advantage over the Rangers, and they continued to out shoot the Blueshirts for the remainder of the game.

In the second period the Rangers finally got on the board when Jimmy Vesey made a brilliant play. The teams lined up for a faceoff in the Coyotes’ zone and the Rangers lost the draw.

As the puck went toward the boards, Jimmy Vesey picked Oliver Ekman Larsson’s pocket and drove to the net putting the puck just underneath the crossbar.

The game would remain tied at 1-1 after two, and the same remained true after the third period with the Coyotes owning a shots advantage of 36 to 25.

Lundqvist was forced to make a number of key stops during the contest, and in the third period he was at his best.

During overtime the Coyotes registered three shots on goal, but were unable to beat the King. Clayton Keller had a partial breakaway that didn’t result in a scoring chance, but he did send the Coyotes to the power play.

The Coyotes didn’t make much of their opportunity, and Lundqvist sent it to the shootout by skating out his crease and sending the puck down the ice with second remaining in overtime.

In the shootout Mika Zibanejad scored the deciding goal showing patience before ripping one past the glove of Antti Raanta.

Pavel Buchnevich also shot for the Rangers but missed. Anthony Duclair, Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan were the three shooters sent out by Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, and all were stopped by Lundqvist.

The Rangers will take on the Vegas Golden Knights at 9:30 Eastern, and the game will be shown on MSG+. After this game the Rangers are on a bye week and will have five days off in a row.

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