Rangers Fall In Shootout To Red Wings

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Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

The Rangers were able to get a point against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night but fell just short in the shootout. Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard shined in net for Detroit as he registered 37 saves, including a save off a penalty shot in overtime from Brady Skjei. Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves in the shootout loss for the Rangers.

Before the game, Vinni Lettieri was called up from Hartford to replace Chris Kreider’s spot on the roster. Lettieri was given the number 95, making him the first ever Ranger player ever to wear that number in a regular season game.

With 2:25 remaining in the first, David Desharnais fed Jimmy Vesey all alone out in front to beat goaltender Jimmy Howard to open the scoring.

The Red Wings would tie it up in the second off a goal from Andreas Athanasiou at 7:46 into the second.

Then, as the third period began, at 2:35, Boo Nieves fed Vinni Lettieri in the slot, who slid it past Jimmy Howard to score the first goal in his NHL career!

Scoring his second goal in 30 games, after a turnover from Boo Nieves in the defensive zone for the Rangers, Henrik Zetterberg buried one past Lundqvist to tie the game at 2. During a busy overtime period, Brady Skjei was awarded a penalty shot after being hooked heading towards the net after beating the Red Wings’ defense. The penalty shot was for naught, as Jimmy Howard stopped Skjei and kept the game tied at 2.

The shootout began with the Red Wings opting to shoot first, sending out Frans Nielsen, who would beat Henrik Lundqvist five hole to get the Red Wings on the board.

Ultimately, Nielsen’s shootout goal would be the game winner, as Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Shattenkirk were all denied or missed their chances versus Jimmy Howard, who sealed the victory for the Red Wings.

The Rangers played a solid effort as they outshot the Red Wings 39 to 35, along with Henrik Lundqvist posting a .943 save percentage. That wasn’t enough for Jimmy Howard, who seems to step his game up against his hometown Rangers, by making 37 saves and posting a .949 save percentage. Howard is 6-3-3 lifetime against the Rangers with a 1.72 goals against average and .949 save percentage.

The Rangers will look to begin 2018 on the right track, as they play in the annual Winter Classic at Citi Field versus the Buffalo Sabres at 1PM on NBC (US) and SportsNet (CAN)

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