Ruslan Fedotenko goal gives Rangers a win
Rangers left wing Ruslan Fedotenko is congratulated by teammate Brian Boyle after scoring against the Minnesota Wild during the third period. (March 27, 2012) Credit: AP
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's back to three.
With a 3-2 defeat of the Wild here Tuesday night, coupled with a 5-3 loss by the Penguins to the Islanders in Pittsburgh, the Rangers extended their lead in both the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division to three points. Both the Rangers and Penguins have six games to play, with a head-to-head matchup at Consol Energy Center next Thursday.
Ruslan Fedotenko slipped between Darroll Powe and Nate Prosser in front and buried a pass from St. Paul native Ryan McDonagh at 13:37 of the third period to snap a 2-2 tie. It was McDonagh's second assist of the game and Fedotenko's ninth goal of an up-and-down season.
Coach John Tortorella said of McDonagh: "He is a guy who wants to extend himself offensively, he's made tremendous improvements in that. The minutes he racks and who he's playing against at such a young age, it's really good."
The Blueshirts 48-21-7 (103 points), who defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3, in a shootout Saturday at Air Canada Centre, have won four of the last five games. The Wild (31-35-10, 72 points) has lost six of the last eight games.
With the score tied early in the third period, Brandon Prust's close-range shot was deflected by Wild goaltender Josh Harding up against the post and cleared. And the Wild, which has been eliminated from the playoffs, would not go away. Henrik Lundqvist (24 saves) had to stop Devin Setoguchi from the doorstep halfway through the third.
The Rangers will remain on the road. They traveled north after the game to Winnipeg. They are 3-0 against the Jets and edged them, 2-1, in Winnipeg in early October. Tonight's game will close out their final back-to-back series of the season.
Brian Boyle gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 11:23 of the first period, knocking in a rebound in front of the crease after Brandon Dubinsky's shot from the right side hit the far post. Anton Stralman, in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for five games, was awarded the other assist on Boyle's eighth goal.
"It was one of his more physical games, he made a huge defensive play in the corner late in the game," Tortorella said of Boyle. "This is a guy who continues to grow; he's been a huge cog for us for quite a while."
With the score tied at 1 in the second period on Kyle Brodziak's power-play rebound at 3:05, Marian Gaborik, the Wild's all-time franchise leader in goals, assists and points, took a backhand pass from Brad Richards and wristed his 38th of the season past Harding, low glove side, for a 2-1 lead at 7:58.
But Marc Staal went off for interference and the Wild rallied again, scoring on its second power play as Mikko Koivu, open at the right post, lofted a shot above Lundqvist, who was starting his sixth consecutive game, to tie it at 11:52 of the second.
The game marked a homecoming of sorts for three native Minnesotans: McDonagh, Derek Stepan and defenseman Stu Bickel had dozens of family and friends in the arena. And it ended up being a happy homecoming for all.
"It wasn't a pretty game to watch," Gaborik said. "But we got two points, which is huge."
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