Rangers 4, Wild 2
NEW YORK -- Center Derick Brassard scored early in the third period to help the New York Rangers complete a two-goal comeback and beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
The Wild jumped to a 2-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old, but defenseman Ryan McDonagh and left winger J.T. Miller scored early in the second period to even the score and set the stage for Brassard in the third period. Left winger Chris Kreider added an empty-net goal with 1:48 remaining.
Miller's goal was his 16th of the season and eighth in his past eight games.
Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 16 saves.
Left winger Ryan Carter and defenseman Matt Dumba scored for the Wild, who are 1-8-1 in their past 10 games. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 26 shots.
Brassard put the Rangers ahead to stay at 5:46 of the third period. The Wild misplayed the puck in their zone, allowing Miller to steal it and move to Brassard alone in front of the net for the center's 18th goal of the season.
A convenient bounce and an accurate shot gave the Wild a 1-0 early in the first period.
Rangers defenseman Marc Staal had a shot attempt near the blue line blocked by Carter. The puck caromed to the neutral zone and Carter corralled it for a breakaway goal that beat Lundqvist beyond his blocker at 2:09.
Dumba scored a power-play goal at 7:57 to extend the lead to 2-0. He rifled a one-timer off a setup by center Mikael Granlund that eluded a screened Lundqvist on the stick side.
McDonagh and Miller scored 1:20 apart early in the second period to draw the Rangers even.
Right winger Mats Zuccarello hit McDonagh with a pass from behind the net. McDonagh dragged the puck into the slot, which pulled Dubnyk to the ice, and slipped a shot under the goaltender to make it 2-1 at 3:15.
The Rangers continued to apply pressure and it resulted in Miller's eighth goal in eight games. Brassard set up the puck at the side of the net for Miller, who blasted a shot over Dubnyk's catching glove to the tie the game.
NOTES: Rangers LW Rick Nash (leg) missed his fourth straight game. ... Rangers D Kevin Klein is out indefinitely with a fractured thumb, but coach Alain Vigneault believes he could be back sooner than expected. Klein took part in the morning skate Thursday. ... Rangers LW Tanner Glass was replaced as a healthy scratch by LW Jayson Megna. ... Wild D Ryan Suter played in his 800th NHL game. ... The Wild scratched G Niklas Backstrom, D Christian Folin and C Kevin Porter.