Detroit — The Red Wings needed a shootout to break out of their latest losing streak.
They defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 in a shootout on Friday to end a three-game skid and win for only the fourth time in the last 17 games.
Frans Nielsen scored the lone shootout goal for either team, his 47th career shootout goal in 94 attempts (50 percent).
Goaltender Jimmy Howard, who was superb against the Rangers as he usually is, stopped a Brady Skjei penalty-shot attempt in overtime.
Henrik Zetterberg tied the score at 2, scoring on his friend and Swedish national teammate Henrik Lundqvist in the third period.
BOX SCORE: Red Wings 3, Rangers 2, shootout
Zetterberg intercepted a pass, went in alone and slipped the rebound past a sprawling Lundqvist at 7:05.
The goal was Zetterberg’s sixth this season, ending a six-game drought, and only his second in the last 28 games.
The Rangers broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period on Vinni Lettieri’s first NHL goal, in his first NHL game.
Lettieri skated down the slot and one-timed a pass from Boo Nieves (Michigan), who intercepted a clearing attempt by Xavier Ouellet.
The goaltending duo between Jimmy Howard and Lundqvist maybe didn’t match the levels seen in previous duals, but it had its moments.
Both made big third-period stops to keep their teams close — especially Howard — as they usually do when facing each other.
“I feel like every time we’re playing the Rangers Jimmy and him (Lundqvist) just turn it on,” Tomas Tatar said after Friday’s morning skate.
Lundqvist entered the game with a 7-4-2 career record against the Red Wings, with a 1.90 goals-against average and .938 saves percentage — but at his best in the last nine games (7-1-1, 1.09 GAA, .963 SVS).
At 35, Lundqvist is enjoying one of his finest seasons.
“The mark of true greatness,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said, talking about Lundqvist’s sustained elite goaltending. “They have a special quality to them. Usually they’re the guys that have that inner drive and work so hard at their craft and keep finding ways to get better.
“I hear that’s his approach. I don’t know if it surprises me (Lundqvist’s continued brilliance) but it’s like any of the real great ones, like (Henrik) Zetterberg for us, they’ve been so good for so long because of their approach.”
Andreas Athanasiou tied the score at 1, ending a personal 15-game goal-scoring drought in the second period.
Dylan Larkin floated an area pass to Athanasiou near the hashmarks, Athanasiou beating two Rangers to the puck and snapping a shot past Lundqvist for his sixth goal.
The Rangers opened the scoring with David Desharnais scoring late in the first period.
Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey intercepted a Danny DeKeyser pass behind Howard’s net. Vesey circled the net and fed Desharnais, who was open at the post and knocked his fourth goal into the net.
Talking after the morning skate, Blashill was impressed with what he’d seen of the Rangers.
“As good as an offensive zone team as we’ll see in the league,” Blashill said. “They spread you out and attack the slot. We walked away from that game (2-1 loss Nov. 24 in New York) and we thought we played real well and we did offensively.
“But defensively, they had a ton of chances and Jimmy (Howard) was excellent. They can really work the offensive zone.”
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