Rangers 4, Wild 1: Carl Hagelin snapped a tie midway through the second period and rookie Cam Talbot made 24 saves as New York posted a rare win at home.
Benoit Pouliot, Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who improved to 2-4-2 on their franchise-record nine-game homestand. Derick Brassard notched a pair of assists for New York, which concludes its lengthy stay at home Monday against Toronto.
Jason Pominville netted the lone goal and Niklas Backstrom turned aside 32 shots for the Wild, who fell to 0-2-0 on their four-game road trip.
Things started well for Minnesota as it took a 1-0 lead just 4:08 into the contest, when Pominville tipped defenseman Ryan Suter's pass past Talbot for his team-leading 17th goal. But Pouliot forged a tie during a power play with 3:52 left in the first period, deflecting blue-liner Ryan McDonagh's pass into the net from alone in front to extend his point streak to four games.
Hagelin put New York ahead at 11:26 of the second as he beat Backstrom from the right faceoff circle for his third goal in four contests. Zuccarello created breathing room with 1:25 remaining in the session, converting a pass from behind the net by Brassard, and Kreider made it 4-1 with 7:14 to play in the third as the puck sneaked between Backstrom's pads after the rookie fanned on his shot from the left circle.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota C Mikael Granlund returned to the lineup after missing 11 straight games - and 13 of 14 - with a concussion and recorded an assist. ... Pominville is three tallies away from recording the seventh 20-goal season of his career. ... Pouliot, who was drafted fourth overall by the Wild in 2005, has collected two goals and two assists during his point streak.
Minnesota | NY Rangers | |
Jason Pominville 1 | Points | Derick Brassard 2 |
Jason Pominville 1 | Goals | Carl Hagelin 1 |
Mikael Granlund 1 | Assists | Derick Brassard 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Benoit Pouliot 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Niklas Backstrom .889 | Save Percentage | Cameron Talbot .960 |
Niklas Backstrom 32 | Saves | Cameron Talbot 24 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Minnesota | 25 | 1 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 6 | 26 |
NY Rangers | 36 | 4 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 6 | 28 |