Minnesota Wild Topple NY Rangers in NHL Showdown

NEW YORK. A Swede robbed another Swede in Manhattan last night.

The victim was Mika Zibanejad and the perpetrator Filip Gustavsson, equipped with a picking glove as effective as a crowbar.

– Well, was it Mika? I was completely focused on the puck so I didn’t see who shot, but I got the puck and it was an important save, says the Minnesota keeper from Skellefteå when we meet him after the 3-1 victory at Madison Square Garden.

It was when the New York Rangers pressed in the final period to tie Minnesota’s 2-1 lead that Mika Zibanejad got his dream situation.

From behind the box, Artemi Panarin managed to find him with a pass right in the goal area and Mika was only going to push the puck in – but somehow compatriot Filip Gustavsson managed to come forward like a viper with the pick.

– It was really a great rescue. Match-deciding, praises Värmland defender Jonas Brodin in the visitors’ excited dressing room after the final whistle.

Well, the Rangers never got any closer than that. Instead, Kirill Kaprizov was able to make it 3-1 in an empty net a little later.

So “Gus Bus” is quite satisfied himself too.

– So, was it Mika who shot? I never got to see that. I was focused on what was happening behind the box but suddenly the puck came out and I got the pick, he comments.

– It was an important rescue. I’ve had a bit of bounce at the end, so it was nice to get it fixed.

The victory as such, there is not much to say about it. After a string of less-than-successful performances during the current road trip, the Wild rallied for their most solid performance of the season so far at Madison Square Garden.

– It has been a bit up and down in a few games, but tonight we came out and drove hard from the start and then were good for 60 minutes. We had a feeling, Brodin continues.

Who himself scored the first goal of the season in the first period, after preparatory work by Joel Eriksson Ek.

– I was a bit lucky, but it was nice to be able to do it.

The Rangers, for their part, finally managed to break the Garden goal drought at once – it took only 57 seconds before Panarin slammed the puck in after a fine assist by Zibanejad – but they lost again.

– We were outplayed, says coach Mike Sullivan.

Marcus Johansson also assisted on a Wild goal – the first in young rookie Danila Yurov’s short NHL career.

Jonathan Toews, who just returned to the league after years of health issues, scored his first goal since the spring of 2023 last night.

In doing so, he ruined another night for Calgary. Because with his control at the beginning of the third period, Winnipeg equalized the 1-0 lead Rasmus Andersson had given the Flames with a resounding shot in the period before that. Then Mark Scheifele put in the decisive 2-1 puck with less than five minutes remaining.

This means that the Alberta team has now lost all six games since the premiership victory against Edmonton and is in last place in the overall table.

Speaking of the table, there is no undefeated team in the league anymore. Carolina suffered its first loss of the season away to new table top Vegas with 4-1.

William Karlsson scored the last goal into an empty box at the end.

Other results of the night: Philadelphia beat Seattle 5-2 at home on Broad Street and Montreal defeated Buffalo 4-2 at the Bell Center (an assist for Rasmus Dahlin).