Klein, Rangers edge Red Wings

NEW YORK --Kevin Klein scored at 1:59 of overtime to give the New York Rangers a 1-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves for his fourth shutout. The Rangers (34-19-6) have won seven of their past nine games (7-1-1) and 10 of their past 14 (10-3-1).
The winning sequence began after Lundqvist stopped Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist in close. The puck got behind Lundqvist and rested in the crease before Rangers forward Chris Kreider swept it out of harm's way. Kevin Hayes took it the other way on a 2-on-1 and sailed the puck to Klein for a shot that beat Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard top shelf.

"[Hayes], I mean, he put a perfect pass in there for me," Klein said. "It was nice to see that. He kind of looked at me, I kind of knew it was coming and I managed to place it well."
Howard made 29 saves for Detroit (29-20-11), which went 0-3-1 on its four-game road trip. The Red Wings have lost six in a row away from Joe Louis Arena, their longest such skid since March 2012.

"Definitely both goaltenders brought their 'A' game to the table," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I feel we did what he had to do here. We came out strong and we had some real good looks initially. Their goaltender made some big saves for them. After that, it was a battle.
"It was a 1-0 game, but it had some huge looks. It could have been different."
Lundqvist and Howard each put on a show. Lundqvist was tremendous during a flurry early in the second period. After Teemu Pulkkinen's outlet pass to Brendan Smith began an odd-man rush, Smith found Andreas Athanasiou, who with a burst of speed took the first shot at 6:33. Lundqvist then made two more saves, one on Smith at 6:38 and the other on Pulkkinen at 6:43.
Rangers forward Jesper Fast was awarded a penalty shot with 5:25 left after he was taken down by Red Wings defenseman Mike Green, but Howard turned him away with a pad save. Howard also delivered when he robbed Fast at the left post off a Derick Brassard pass at 16:16 of the third but was eventually handed a tough-luck loss. The Red Wings goalie hasn't won since Dec. 3, a stretch of 11 appearances.
"It's not satisfying because we didn't get the win," Howard said. "It doesn't matter, you still want to get the two points, but it was a fun game to be a part of."

Hayes appeared to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 5:54 of the third, but the goal was negated by Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill's successful challenge for goalie interference. A misplay from Howard behind his net led to Hayes banking a shot from the right corner off Howard's skate. But replays showed Oscar Lindberg's skate clipping Howard's mask prior to the puck crossing the goal line.
"At the end of the day, this is about finding ways to win games, to stay focused, and that's what we are trying to do," Vigneault said. "It's all about getting the two points. There's a lot of things going on. It's not easy for both sides, so you do what you have to do."
The Rangers penalty kill, which entered the game 28th in the NHL (77.5 percent), was 4-for-4, allowing one shot on goal. New York's kill is 9-for-9 in its past two games.
"I think we work great as a unit," Klein said. "We've got our trigger points; when one guy goes, we can see the read off it. And the bobbling pucks, we are getting to those and putting sticks on them. You look at what the forwards do up front when they're blocking those one-timers for us. It's the key to our success."
The Rangers lead the New York Islanders by five points for second place in the Metropolitan Division. They also continue to roll at home, where they're 22-6-3, and have persevered without defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who missed the game and is day-to-day with a jaw contusion and neck spasm sustained when he was elbowed in the head by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov in the second period of a 3-2 win Thursday.

Despite everything seemingly going against them, the Rangers found a way to head into a three-game road trip starting Tuesday at the New Jersey Devils with a victory.
"Going into the third, I think the key is patience and trust that you will get to where you want to be," Lundqvist said. "You will find a way to win the game. When that happens -- overruled [goal], missed penalty shot, 2-on-0 big chance -- you just have to stick with it and keep playing the way we were playing. I thought again that it shows a lot of good signs for this group that we stayed confident and patient, and in the end, we earned this one."
Red Wings rookie forward Dylan Larkin returned after missing one game because of an illness.
Rangers forward Marek Hrivik made his NHL debut after he was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday.
The Red Wings return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.