Zuccarello lifts Rangers past Red Wings in overtime

NEW YORK --Mats Zuccarello scored 37 seconds into overtime, and Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves to give the New York Rangers a 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Zuccarello beat Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard from the left circle off a pass through the slot from defenseman Brady Skjei.

WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Rangers highlights]
"First see who's open, but then just try to get the shot off quick," Zuccarello said of his plan when he got the puck from Skjei. "It's nice to see it go in."
The Rangers (12-9-2) extended their home winning streak to seven games and their overall winning streak to three. The Red Wings (10-9-4) lost for the third straight game (0-1-2).
"Great Thanksgiving dinner [Thursday], an even better win [Friday]," Lundqvist said. "It was a lot of fun."
Tomas Tatar gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal on a high one-timer from the right circle at 4:05 of the third period. Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg had an assist to give him 918 NHL points and tie Pavel Datsyuk for sixth in Red Wings history.
Rangers forward Chris Kreider tied it 1-1 at 10:17 with a backhanded shot in front that banked in off Howard (29 saves).

Lundqvist, who has started 11 straight games, has allowed two goals, zero at even strength, on 94 shots in the past three games. He has allowed two goals or fewer in six of his past seven starts, going 5-2-0 with one shutout, a 1.78 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in that span.
"I feel great," Lundqvist said. "People talk to me about starting a lot of games, but physically you never really get tired. It's mentally. Right now, I'm in a nice flow where I don't overthink things so I feel rested. I'm just excited to get an opportunity to play a lot of hockey right now."
The Red Wings, coming off a 6-2 loss at home against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, had 17 shots on goal in the first period and 41 for the game. They were 1-for-4 on the power play and killed off the two penalties they committed.
"We did a tremendous job from the start of the game," Howard said. "It's one of those where after you felt like you deserved the two points."
Howard and Lundqvist combined to allow three or fewer goals in the same game for the sixth consecutive time, dating to Dec. 6, 2009. It's the third time they kept the game 0-0 going into the third period.
They combined for 49 saves through two periods. Lundqvist had 27 saves, 17 in the first period. Howard had 22 saves, 16 in the second.
Lundqvist denied Red Wings forwards Dylan Larkin and Gustav Nyquist on breakaways in the first period. Howard made post-to-post saves on forward Rick Nash and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk in the second.

Rangers forward Michael Grabner hit the left post early in the second period and watched the puck slide through the crease, parallel to the goal line. Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha cleared it away.
Detroit defenseman Mike Green hit the right post with a one-timer from above the right circle at 16:51 of the second.
"A lot of people complain about low-scoring games," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said, "but for me, anyway, this was as entertaining as it could get."
Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley sustained an upper-body injury in a collision with Rangers forward Paul Carey at 12:06 of the first period. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he would know more about Daley's status after he gets an MRI on Saturday morning.

Goal of the game

Tatar's goal at 4:05 of the third period.

Save of the game

Howard's left pad save on Nash's one-timer at 9:20 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Zuccarello's goal 37 seconds into overtime.

They said it

"Both goalies were obviously great, but I thought we did lots of good stuff that we can certainly build on. There are areas we've got to shore up. Now, some of that is they're a real good team. They've won lots of games here and they certainly test you in your 'D' zone, and I didn't think our 'D' zone was quite good enough in the second. But, I thought overall we played the way we need to play to be successful and the way we've played over the last large stretch of games that we have been successful." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
"To play that game was a lot of fun but it was also challenging. There were a lot of chances. Hopefully the fans enjoyed it. It was a great finish by us." -- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist

Need to know

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh missed his second straight game with an abdominal strain. He's expected to be re-evaluated Sunday. … The Rangers have outscored their opponents 29-14 during their seven-game home winning streak.

What's next

Red Wings:Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-D, MSG-Plus 2, NHL.TV)
Rangers: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (2 p.m. ET; MSG, SN, NHL.TV)