Miller's Goal Lifts Rangers to OT Win in Detroit

After 60 minutes decided nothing, Mats Zuccarello and J.T. Miller needed just 1:56 of overtime to lift the Rangers to a 1-0 win over the Red Wings Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.
Defenseman Brady Skjei broke up a two-on-one break for the Red Wings by intercepting a pass in the slot. He turned and sent a pass up off the glass that Zuccarello took and carried into Detroit's zone before feeding Miller for the two-on-none goal to break the scoreless tie.

"Just a quick transition," Miller said of his goal. "That's pretty much the only way people score in three-on-three nowadays. Zucc got behind them and just tried to bust up the ice. He's a really good passer so I just put myself in a spot to shoot."

Neither team had much of anything going offensively during regulation. The Red Wings outshot the Rangers 21-18 in regulation, and the only shot coming in overtime was on Miller's goal.
"I thought both teams did a good job defending," Derek Stepan said. "Neither goalie - there weren't many Grade A chances given up by either team. It was a defensive battle and we found a way to get the two points, which is big."
Henrik Lundqvist was able to carry over his strong play from Thursday night in Toronto into Sunday's game. His best save came in the third period when he stopped his fellow countryman Henrik Zetterberg on the doorstep with a helmet save that kept the game scoreless.
"I thought for sure he was going to go far side," Lundqvist said of the save. "He went high and it hit me in the head. When you get hit in the head in a game you hardly feel it. You have so much adrenaline and you just have to make a save. It hurts in practice, but in a game you just happen to make a save."

The win was Lundqvist's 20th of the season, marking the 12th consecutive season he's reached that mark, which ties an NHL record. He is the first goaltender in NHL history to record at least 20 wins in each of his first 12 seasons.
"For me personally, it's nice to get two games here where sure I've changed a little bit, my mindset and tried to be a little bit better but I think the biggest change has been the way we've played in front of me and the structure and not giving up the big chances right in front," Lundqvist said. "That makes a big difference for me.
The Rangers lost Kevin Hayes after the second period to a lower-body injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault said the forward would be evaluated in New York on Monday.
While it wasn't a perfect game by either team, Stepan said what matters are the points.
"Through an 82 game schedule you're going to have a couple of these," Stepan said. "You have to make sure you come out on the right end of them."