Brassy! Derick Brassard celebrates his overtime winner with Rick Nash.
AP Photo by Frank Franklin II/Getty Images

Last night’s game had a bit of everything. It featured two Original 6 teams on Rivalry Night. The Rangers and Red Wings combined for seven goals and four power play goals with overtime hero Derick Brassard notching the winner at 1:50. His fifth of the season lifted the Rangers to an important 4-3 win at MSG.

It raised their record to 6-4-2 putting them in a three-way tie with the Devils and Islanders. All three Battle Of New York clubs have 14 points through a dozen games. Most notably, it allowed the Blueshirts to conclude a four-game home stand 2-0-2 picking up six of eight points. Following a visit to Toronto for Hockey Hall Of Fame weekend, they return home for three hosting Edmonton, Pittsburgh and Colorado. With a majority of games at MSG in the first half, they must take advantage. So far, they’re 4-2-2 at home.

The Rangers overcame a Tomas Tatar tying power play goal with 7.7 seconds remaining. Undisciplined penalties nearly cost them. I still don’t know what refs Steve Kozari and Tim Peel saw. On a nationally televised game, they were brutal. That included missed calls on both sides with Carl Hagelin getting away with hi-sticking Danny DeKyser and Johan Franzen catching Hagelin with a cheap shot as payback. They also erroneously called Marc Staal for a hooking minor before sending Marty St. Louis to the box with Justin Abdelkader joining him for embellishment. Staal was later nabbed for holding leading to Tatar finishing off a beautiful Andrej Nestrasil cross ice feed.

”When they scored the tying goal, we just stayed positive,” Brassard said in the winning locker room while donning the Broadway Hat. ”We talked to each other on the bench and we got it done.”

”You never want it to happen that late in the game,” Rick Nash added while scoring his team-leading 10th to open the scoring. ”But you have to give credit to our guys. We regrouped and came out pretty good in overtime.”

Without Ryan McDonagh, wins aren’t easy to come by. Alain Vigneault continues to lean heavily on Dan Girardi, who logged over 30 minutes for the third consecutive game. As usual, he’s stepped up assisting on Brassard’s winner while playing his usual gritty game. That included blocking four shots. He and Staal combined for eight of the team’s 17 blocks. Matt Hunwick had another strong game assisting on two goals including a great outlet that resulted in a sweet St. Louis finish on a breakaway. Kevin Klein returned but was shaky covering up the puck in the crease which led to a penalty shot. However, Henrik Lundqvist bailed him out by getting a glove on Gustav Nyqvist’s high tester. It was also Klein accidentally setting up Jakub Kindl’s power play tally that put the Wings on the board.

A Louis Louis Louis: Marty St. Louis celebrates his breakaway goal on Jonas Gustavsson in the second period.
AP Photo by Frank Franklin II/Getty Images

At the time, the Rangers led 2-0 on goals from Nash (PPG) and St. Louis (3rd in 2 games). Conor Allen took a bad penalty. Not surprisingly, he didn’t see many shifts afterwards. For the game, Allen got 12 shifts logging 8:46 with a minor penalty and three hits. Are they really going to give 36-year old veteran Tomas Kaberle a shot? I’d rather not contemplate that scenario.

Playing their second game in two nights, the Red Wings were sluggish early falling behind. If not for the play of backup Jonas Gustavsson, they don’t get a point. Facing his fellow Swede countryman, The Monster was good finishing with 26 saves. That included highway robbery on Nash when he made a cat-like glove save in the final minute of the second period. By that point, the game was tied. Playing in his first game of the season, Daniel Cleary scored just 13 seconds after Kindl when he surprised Lundqvist short side. Neither ref saw it. Video review confirmed the goal. To Detroit’s credit, they responded by dictating play with a relentless forecheck to get the game tied.

Lee Stempniak put the Rangers back up when he took a wonderful Dominic Moore pass and converted a two-on-one rush for his first goal in nine. It also was his first point in seven. Chris Kreider got the secondary assist. Outside of that, the second-year forward wasn’t noticeable. As talented as he is, Kreider still struggles with consistency. Anthony Duclair outplayed him despite playing on the fourth line. Duke gets chances every game. He hit the post on a power play yet only received 12 shifts (9:39).

Despite allowing three including Tatar’s tying marker he had no chance on, Lundqvist made some big saves. The Rangers were under siege for long stretches. They were outshot 13-5 in the third. But Lundqvist held them in and deserved the win in regulation. Only penalty trouble prevented it.

”I felt like we had a little more energy. They played last night and we tried to take advantage of that,” Lundqvist said.

”Our guys are battling hard,” Vigneault noted after coaching his 900th NHL game. ”In overtime they took a penalty and we were able to make our power play count.”

NY Puck 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Jakub Kindl, DET (power play goal, assist)

2nd Star-Rick Nash, NYR (power play goal-10 goals in 12 games, dominant)

1st Star-Derick Brassard, NYR (game-winning PPG at 1:50 of OT, assist-11 Pts in 12 games for Brass)