DETROIT (AP) - Henrik Lundqvist had little time to react to Henrik Zetterberg’s shot from point-blank range in the third period.
The puck hit the New York goalie in the helmet and bounced away.
“Those shots hurt in practice,” Lundqvist said. “But when you make a save like that in a scoreless game, it’s a great feeling.”
That was one of the few good scoring chances for either team Sunday, and when J.T. Miller finally scored in overtime, Lundqvist and the New York Rangers prevailed 1-0 over the Detroit Red Wings. Lundqvist made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season and 61st of his career.
Lundqvist has allowed only two goals over his past two games after letting in 20 in the previous four.
“The defense was really structured in front of me, and I was able to take advantage of that,” he said. “In these last two games, I’ve tried to keep the puck in front of me and stay patient. That’s what I had gotten away from.”
The Rangers managed only 19 shots in the game, which ended on Miller’s goal at 1:56 of overtime. Mats Zuccarello and Miller swooped in alone on Detroit goalie Jared Coreau, then Zuccarello made a simple pass to Miller, who lifted the puck over Coreau for his 16th goal of the season.
“I always liked the 3 on 3. It’s a lot more exciting, I think,” Coreau said. “That’s the nature of it. At one end, a couple bounces here and there, goes off the glass, they get a breakaway.”
Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall played for the first time since Jan. 4, returning from a lower-body injury. The Red Wings put forward Drew Miller on waivers.
“Drew wants to play, so here’s an opportunity potentially if there’s another suitor out there, where he could play,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said.
The Red Wings have earned points in five straight games, going 3-0-2.
New York has won two in a row following a three-game losing streak. The Rangers had 81 shots on goal over their previous two games but didn’t do much offensively against the Red Wings.
“Neither team was generating a lot of offensive chances,” New York coach Alain Vigneault said. “The quality of the ice today was just horrendous, and when you can’t put two passes together, it is hard to demonstrate any skill. There wasn’t any room in the neutral zone, so both teams were just crossing the red line and dumping it in to try to create something down low.”
Lundqvist’s previous shutout this season was Nov. 1 against St. Louis. He made 35 saves in that 5-0 victory. His .904 save percentage this season is well below his norm - he’s never finished lower than .912.
“Hank has gone through some challenging times, but he worked at it and now he’s back to where we need him,” Vigneault said. “That was a big shutout for us.”
NOTES: Red Wings F Thomas Vanek hit the post from in close late in the first, but he left the game after the period with a lower-body injury and didn’t return. Blashill said he didn’t think it was anything “long, long term” but he’d know more Monday. … The Rangers improved to 17-7-0 on the road. They have the most road victories in the NHL. … Rangers rookie Pavel Buchnevich had his eight-game point streak snapped.
UP NEXT
Rangers: New York returns home to host Los Angeles on Monday night. The Kings are coming off a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Red Wings: Detroit is at Boston on Tuesday night.
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