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Rangers at Red Wings: Buchnevich Goals Not Enough as Rangers Fall in Shootout

The game matched what one might have inferred from the standings, as the struggling Rangers and Red Wings combined for a sloppy display that ended in a 3-2 shootout victory for Detroit.

The game started off with a slow crawl, as both teams struggled to generate anything meaningful. The Rangers eventually broke through 8:43 into the first period. Neal Pionk made a great pinch to keep the puck in Detroit’s zone, and Brendan Lemieux darted behind the net to win a puck battle and send it to the front for Buchnevich. Buchnevich was stopped by goaltender Jimmy Howard on his first two attempts but converted the second rebound.

Though the Rangers entered the second period with a 1-0 lead, Detroit tied it up roughly a quarter of the way into the period. Tony DeAngelo was out-leveraged in the slot by Tyler Bertuzzi, who found space to redirect a point shot past Henrik Lundqvist.

Detroit took a lead in the third period. Brett Howden could not convert a Buchnevich setup on an odd-man rush, and the Red Wings went the other way. Andreas Athanasiou beat Lundqvist on the subsequent two-on-one.

Buchnevich tied the game with under six minutes remaining. Brendan Lemieux sprung Buchnevich for a breakaway with a great pass from the neutral zone. Buchnevich converted to score his second of the game.

The overtime saw both teams trading chances, though neither found the net. Detroit prevailed in the shootout as Athanasiou converted his attempted while Mika Zibenajad, DeAngelo, and Buchnevich all missed theirs.

The Rangers, truthfully, were lucky to obtain a point. Detroit carried play most of the game, out-attempting the Rangers 84-to-50. Henrik Lundqvist kept them in the game with 43 saves on 45 shots.

The Rangers have now lost six-straight games, though they’ve accumulated four “loser” points in that span. They will be back in action on Saturday at Madison Square Garden against the New Jersey Devils.

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