NHL Roundup: Wild win on Lundqvist night, Caps spoil Zubov jersey retirement, and more
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL schedule boasted five games with two very special nights in New York and Dallas.
Sadly for fans of the Rangers and Stars, they had to watch the visitors spoil evenings honor two greats of the game.
First it was the Wild beating the Rangers on the night they honored legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. That was followed by the Capitals taking down the Stars after they raised Sergei Zubov’s #56 to the rafters.
Let’s recap.
Wild 3, Rangers 2
Frederick Gaudreau scored the decisive goal 1:49 into the third period after being stopped on a penalty shot early in the second as Minnesota rallied for past host New York.
Minnesota won its fourth straight and for the seventh time in eight games, spoiling a night when the Rangers retired goaltender Henrik Lundqvist’s No. 30 to the rafters. Lundqvist, who played for the Rangers from 2005 to 2020, became the 11th Rangers player to have his jersey retired.
“I’m so happy that I get an opportunity to say thank you,” Lundqvist told the fans in attendance. “It’s been an amazing experience.”
Gaudreau scored his third goal of the season and his first since Nov. 18. Former Ranger Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Fiala scored and both players set up Gaudreau’s tally. Barclay Goodrow scored for the third straight game and Chris Kreider scored his league-leading 31st goal but the Rangers saw a five-game home winning streak halted.
The game ended with a little bit of controversy as it appeared Mika Zibanejad tied the game with a second left on the clock. However, the referee waived it off for goalie interference to send the Rangers and their fans home unhappy.
“I obviously don’t agree with it– I can’t say much more than that,” Zibanejad said afterwards about the call. “Honestly, it just sucks we couldn’t end the night on a better note.”
Red Wings 3, Penguins 2 (SO)
Lucas Raymond notched the only goal in the shootout as visiting Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Pittsburgh.
Red Wings goaltender Calvin Pickard, in his second game of the season, stopped all three Pittsburgh shootout attempts after making 36 saves through regulation and overtime. Givani Smith and Filip Zadina scored in regulation for the Red Wings, who had been 0-2-1 in their previous three games.
Jake Guentzel scored twice and Sidney Crosby had two assists for the Penguins, who extended their point streak to eight games (6-0-2) and are 17-2-2 in their past 21.
Bruins 2, Coyotes 1
Charlie McAvoy scored the go-ahead goal at 13:41 of the second period and Linus Ullmark stopped 30 of 31 shots to lead Boston to a win in Glendale, Ariz.
Erik Haula also had a goal for the Bruins, who snapped a two-game skid with their 11th win in 15 games (11-3-1). Boston earned its 17th consecutive victory over the Coyotes, who haven’t beaten the Bruins since Oct. 17, 2009.
Nick Schmaltz collected the lone Coyotes’ goal. Scott Wedgewood recorded 35 saves for Arizona, which took a fourth consecutive loss.
Capitals 5, Stars 0
Sergei Zubov started his career with the fabled 1994 New York Rangers team that ended a 54 year drought. He was traded to Pittsburgh but became a superstar in Dallas, helping them win a Stanley Cup in 1999.
“Twenty-six years ago, the city of Dallas welcomed me,” Zubov said. “Today, I say thank you to this team, to this city and to you fans for being such a good part of my life. I will forever be proud to call myself a Dallas Star.”
Unfortunately, Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists and Vitek Vanecek made 29 saves as Washington recorded a shutout victory at Dallas.
Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist, and Evgeny Kuznetsov contributed two assists for the Capitals, who ended a two-game losing streak. Tom Wilson, John Carlson and Trevor van Riemsdyk scored Washington’s other goals.
Dallas’ Braden Holtby, facing his longtime team for the first time, allowed five goals on 27 shots in two periods. Jake Oettinger stopped two shots after replacing Holtby during the second intermission.
“I think we got exposed today,” Stars defenseman John Klingberg said. “Mistakes got costly, and they’re a really good hockey team over there.”
Avalanche 6, Blackhawks 4
Nazem Kadri had a goal and two assists to help the Colorado Avalanche extend their winning streak to nine games with a 6-4 victory over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
Gabriel Landeskog had two goals and an assist and Pavel Francouz made 39 saves for the Avalanche, who are 14-0-1 in their past 15 games.
Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist and Brandon Hagel scored twice for the Blackhawks, who are 1-3-2 in their past six games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves.
–Field Level Media contributed to this report