Rangers Topped by Wild 7-4 at The Garden

The Rangers' defensive struggles continued Friday night when the Blueshirts were defeated, 7-4, by the Minnesota Wild at The Garden.
It was the first time this season the Rangers lost back-to-back games in regulation.

After the teams traded goals in the first period, Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter scored 18 seconds apart in the opening minute of the second and never looked back.
After Ryan McDonagh cut the Rangers' deficit to 3-2, Minnesota answered 2:38 later to take a 4-2 lead and thus ending Henrik Lundqvist's night after surrendering three goals on the first four shots he faced in the middle frame.
"It was just a couple plays that happened where they just cashed in and it happened really quickly," said Lundqvist, who allowed four goals on 13 shots in the no decision. "Hockey is like that. Sometimes you don't know what to expect from each period, you just go out there and try to prepare and play your game, try to make a difference. But I was not able to make those saves in the second to keep it a tie game."
The Wild would add two more goals on Antti Raanta before the second period ended. Jason Zucker scored and Matt Dumba added another on the power play to extend the lead to 6-2.
Raanta would allow two goals on seven shots in the loss.

Derek Stepan scored in the final minute of the period and Chris Kreider added his second of the night to cut the deficit to 6-4 with three minutes remaining in the game. Charlie Coyle would score an empty net goal with 1:09 left.
The Rangers have now allowed 14 goals in the two games heading into the Christmas break. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that while he may have been quick to turn the page on Tuesday's 7-2 loss in Pittsburgh, that wasn't the case after tonight's showing.
"This happened the last two games. This has not been a regular occurrence. I don't intend to make it one," Vigneault said. "As much as it might have looked like there was a pass on the prior game, there is definitely not a pass on this one here. We need quite a few players to pick up their level. This is a challenging league and to win you better play well and tonight we didn't have enough guys playing well."
Vigneault had praise for the Stepan line, stating it was the only trio "bringing out their A-game" against the Wild. The line finished with three goals and six assists and had a combined plus-7 rating.
New York now heads into the holiday break on a two-game losing streak, but Lundqvist said after the busy schedule - nine games in 16 days dating back to Dec. 8 in Winnipeg - the break could be beneficial, but ultimately the team has to up their game for success following the recess.
"This week, the last two games, it has not gone the way we wanted obviously. We get a couple days here to regroup and think about what we can do better as a group and personally," Lundqvist said. "Sometimes all it takes is you're a little off and you're playing against two really good teams and they make you pay. It starts with making the save at the right time or making the play at the right time. You get away from that a little bit and it might be tough.