|
 Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith (25 saves) exited the contest with
7 1/2 minutes remaining in the third period after Derick Brassard
fell on his extended right leg. Rangers blue-liner Dan Girardi
forged a 3-3 tie four minutes later by deftly deflecting McDonagh's
shot from the point before the latter cleaned up a rebound and
tucked the puck past Thomas Greiss (seven saves) in overtime.
Brad Richards scored to snap a 10-game drought, Brassard also
tallied and Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 18 shots for the Rangers,
who posted their fifth consecutive home win against Phoenix. New
York moved into sole possession of second place in the Metropolitan
Division, one point ahead of Philadelphia heading into Wednesday's
showdown at Madison Square Garden.
Kyle Chipchura collected a goal and an assist while defenseman
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and former Ranger Jeff Halpern also tallied for
the Coyotes, who have dropped two in a row following a three-game
winning streak. Phoenix sits one point ahead of Dallas for the
second wild card in the Western Conference.
After Phoenix seized a 2-0 lead, New York answered as Richards
deflected Carl Hagelin's shot from the point at 6:10 of the second
and Brassard leveled the contest under five minutes later with a
wrist shot from deep in the right faceoff circle. The Coyotes
reclaimed the lead with 3:09 left in the session as Chipchura's
attempted pass caromed off the stick of Rangers left wing Chris
Kreider and into the net.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Named the NHL's Second Star of the Week earlier in
the day, Lundqvist was honored prior to the game for becoming the
franchise leader in both wins and shutouts. Former Ranger greats
Mike Richter and Ed Giacomin, who held the previous marks, joined
Lundqvist on the ice for a video tribute in his honor. ...
Brassard's 17th goal matched a career high originally set with
Columbus in the 2010-11 season. ... Phoenix LW Lauri Korpikoski was
hit in the jaw by an errant pass during the morning skate. The
former Ranger missed the contest and was replaced by LW Rob
Klinkhammer.
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