Henrik Lundqvist solid in return but Rangers lose to Red Wings in OT

DETROIT — Henrik Lundqvist had done all he possibly could in his return. It just wasn’t quite enough.

After missing three games with neck spasms, the Rangers goaltender entered Joe Louis Arena Saturday afternoon and faced a bombardment by a Red Wings team that is battling for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.

“That was a playoff game,” said Dylan Larkin, the dynamic rookie who leads the Red Wings with 20 goals, after Detroit’s 3-2 overtime victory.

Lundqvist allowed only one goal in more than 59 minutes, but his team could not close the deal. Former Ranger Brad Richards tied the score at 2-2 on a six-on-four, with Eric Staal in the penalty box for holding and goaltender Petr Mrazek pulled for the extra attacker.

After Richards found the net during a scramble in front with 31.8 seconds left in the third period to tie it, Darren Helm, at the top of the crease, deflected Pavel Datsyuk’s shot past Lundqvist at 3:03 of overtime.

Lundqvist was outstanding, making 40 saves, and for the fifth straight time, a Rangers-Red Wings game was decided by a goal. Four of those have gone to overtime.

In the end, an inch or two might have pushed a 2-1 Rangers lead — which was forged when Chris Kreider tipped in Keith Yandle’s blast from the point on a power play at 15:33 of the third period — to 3-1 in the final 1:18.

But the Blueshirts missed two long tries at the empty net, with Ryan McDonagh’s shot hitting the post and Viktor Stalberg’s shot sliding wide with 1:03 left.

“When it hit the post dead-on, I said to myself, ‘Lots of times when that happens, it turns around the other way,’ ” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said.

For the Wings, it was one of those days when a bounce of the puck here and there went their way.

“Those are the bounces you’re going to get sometimes,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “We came into a very tough building against a team that’s very desperate and we got a point.”

Coupled with the Islanders’ regulation 3-1 loss to the Bruins, the Rangers are up by three points for second place and home ice in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders have two games in hand.

“It’s tough to come up short,” said Lundqvist, who will play Sunday when the Rangers face the Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

“It was just a big scramble,” he said of Richards’ goal. “When I picked it up, it was too late. For the most part, I felt I was in good position. They were going to go for it. Their last two goals, it’s a battle in front. That’s the way you score a lot of goals.”

The Rangers (39-22-7, 85 points) had a 1-0 lead after two periods but Helm, who had just come off the bench, scooped up a dumped-in puck that bounced off Mats Zuccarello and Dan Boyle and beat Lundqvist up high at 4:28 of the third to tie the score at 1. Derek Stepan had scored at 19:11 of the first period, one in which the Blueshirts were outshot 15-7.

Lundqvist kept his team in the game early when he denied Richards’ backhander, Danny Dekeyser’s follow and a try by Helm, then made saves on Justin Abdelkader and Henrik Zetterberg and a stop on Jonathan Ericsson’s one-timer with 4:42 left.

“Our effort was exceptional,” Blashill said. “We played through the chaos.”