NHL Results - Mon, Oct 27, 2014

Minnesota Wild @ NY Rangers 4-5 - The Rangers were down by three goals, unable to even sniff the net let alone a quality scoring chance. The Rangers spent 14 of the first 40 minutes killing penalties, including two five-minute majors resulting in ejections and an automatic suspension pending review of defenseman John Moore. The Minnesota Wild had this one at Madison Square Garden until they didn't. They had this one until they stopped being aggressive. They had this one until the Rangers started to play, to skate, to push and gain momentum. New York scored five goals in the third period to erase two multiple-goal deficits in a 5-4 win. The Wild had leads of 3-0 after 40 minutes and 4-2 early in the third period, but couldn't stop the Rangers from doing something they hadn't done in more than 22 years. The most-recent time the Rangers won a game when trailing by at least three goals entering the third period was Feb. 21, 1992, when they beat the Minnesota North Stars. The Wild's power-play drought continued; they went 0-for-4 despite two five-minute advantages for major infractions by Rangers forward Chris Kreider (boarding Jonas Brodin at 19:44 of the first period) and Moore (match penalty for a hit to the head of Erik Haula at 7:12 of the second). Haula didn't return to the game. Kreider and Moore were ejected. Moore's match penalty comes with an automatic suspension pending review by the NHL, according to Rule 21 in the NHL Rulebook. The Wild, though, built a 3-0 lead through two periods on goals from Nate Prosser, Matt Cooke and Jason Pominville despite not having Haula, Brodin and left wing Zach Parise for a stretch of time. Brodin left the game after Kreider hit him but returned at 9:05 of the second period. Parise left the game at 2:14 of the second after taking a stick to the face; he didn't return until 14:54. Klein started the Rangers comeback with a goal off a slap shot from the blue line through a screening Nash at 2:52 of the third. Nash scored 1:56 later, with a backhand from the slot off a rebound of Matt Hunwick's shot from the point to cut Minnesota's lead to 3-2. There was life in the Garden. The Rangers had momentum for 47 seconds. Jason Zucker countered, scoring on a redirection of Nino Niederreiter's shot at 5:35 of the third period. At that point the Wild thought they had weathered the Rangers' momentum swing, that their counterpunch would be good enough to settle down and win the remainder of the period. New York responded with unanswered goals by Brassard, Duclair and Zuccarello. Brassard scored to make it 4-3 at 7:54, or 2:19 after Zucker's goal. Duclair made one count for the first time in his NHL career. He doesn't play on the penalty kill and was therefore limited to eight shifts totaling six minutes of ice time through 40 minutes, but he was one of New York's fastest forwards in the third period and he cashed in with the tying goal at 16:12.

Duclair flashed up the right wing, grabbed a long pass from Hunwick, skated into the right circle and sent a wrist shot dribbling through Kuemper. Zuccarello came back with his first goal of the season 37 seconds later, scoring on a one-timer from just off the right post off a backhanded pass from Brassard, who was behind the net. Zuccarello had room because Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon was stuck near the left post. It's just a shame the Rangers had to spoil it with their dirty tactics.

Montreal Canadiens @ Edmonton Oilers 0-3 - After losing their first five games of the season, the Oilers climbed back to .500 with a 3-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens. All four wins this season have come against Eastern opponents; the streak began with a 3-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Oilers also defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 and the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3. The Oilers had not won four consecutive games since winning five straight from March 26-April 3, 2013. They had not shut out the Canadiens since March 1, 1989. Pouliot opened the scoring with 18.2 seconds left in the first period, taking a pass from Mark Arcobello in front, getting around Tokarski and roofing a backhand shot into the net. The goal was Pouliot's first with the Oilers; the left wing signed a five-year free agent contract with Edmonton this past summer after playing with the New York Rangers last season. Yakupov extended the lead at 6:33 of the second period with his second goal of the season. The Oilers right wing was left alone at the side of the net and spotted by Pouliot for an easy tap-in. The Canadiens had a goal waved off midway through the first period after Max Pacioretty scored following a scramble in front. Montreal right wing Brendan Gallagher was ruled to have interfered with Scrivens after being pushed through the crease by Oilers defenseman Jeff Petry. In the third period, the Canadiens pressed but had difficulty getting shots through. The Oilers blocked 21 shots in the game. Defensemen Mark Fayne had six blocks and center Boyd Gordon had five. Hall scored into an empty net with 2:18 left in the third period with Tokarski pulled for the extra skater. The Oilers left wing took a pass off the boards from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and outraced the Canadiens defense to the empty net.