Zibanejad, Rangers defeat Wild in shootout for third victory in row

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Mika Zibanejad tied the game late in the third period and then scored the deciding goal in the shootout for the New York Rangers in a 4-3 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist, and Alexandar Georgiev made 23 saves for the Rangers (29-23-4), who have won three straight and six of eight.
"There sure was no quit in us tonight," New York coach David Quinn said. "Frustrating game for a lot of reasons. They do a great job defending. They really defend the middle of the rink really well. We just stepped to it. We just never quit. We've been talking about the fact that the belief we have in each other continues to grow throughout the season. It was never more evident than it was tonight."
WATCH: [All Rangers vs. Wild highlights]
Jonas Brodin and Jordan Greenway each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Stalock made 28 saves for the Wild (27-23-7).
"We keep saying [one point is good]," Stalock said. "We need two points right now."
Pavel Buchnevich brought New York within 3-2 at 11:51 of the third period, and Zibanejad tied the game 3-3 at 18:54.
"I thought we weren't out of it," Zibanejad said. "I didn't think it was that big of a gap in between us, even though it was a 3-1 lead for them. We believe in here. We know when we do things right good things can happen, and they did today."

Ryan Donato scored on a backhand at 9:49 of the first period to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Mikko Koivu had an assist, the 500th of his NHL career.
Panarin tied it 1-1 with a wide-open shot from the left circle at 11:52. He has 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in his past 19 games.
Brodin put Minnesota ahead 2-1 with a slap shot through traffic at 16:43.

It appeared Wild defenseman Matt Dumba scored at 12:23 of the second period, but the goal was overturned when video review determined Ryan Hartman interfered with Georgiev.
Greenway deflected a shot by Brodin at 17:53 to increase the lead to 3-1.
"I feel like we've been here before, a couple times where this has happened now, and we have to learn to finish the game," Donato said. "We have to learn how to close it out there. Yeah, this one stings."

They said it

"A couple guys going down throughout the game and guys stepping up and playing everywhere. This is the type of win you want to kind of build on. Hopefully we can keep it going." -- Rangers forward Ryan Strome
"This is what it's going to be for 25 games. I think our problem today was ... we need 18 players and a goalie to play great and we didn't have all 18 players playing at their best today. When we do that, we've got good character and they worked hard, but things don't always go right if they're not at their best." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Need to know

Rangers forward Marc Staal was scratched with the flu. … New York defenseman Jacob Trouba had five hits. … Buchnevich has three goals in the past six games. … Brodin has three points (one goal, two assists) in two games. … Wild forward Kevin Fiala had his five-game point streak end (10 points; five goals, five assists).

What's next

Rangers:At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-O, MSG, NHL.TV)
Wild:Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (5 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)