One game after abandoning their defensive schemes and leaving the goaltender alone in an 8-5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Rangers got back to defense and held the San Jose Sharks to two goals through regulation.
Brady Skjei potted the game-winner with just 37 seconds gone in the extra session after holding the puck on the left wing for what seemed like an hour.
He finally wristed it up high and into the cage for the Rangers’ first win of the season, 3-2.
“You want to play with urgency all the time, but we really wanted this first win,” Skjei said. “It was huge. We felt we could have won at least one or two, but we knew we needed to get one here quick. That was a big win for us.”
For New York head coach David Quinn, it was his first NHL career win.
“I wish I could divide the puck into about 45 pieces because it was certainly a great win for us,” said Quinn, 52, who is in his first season as an NHL coach. “We needed to feel good about something.”
The Sharks held a 2-1 lead late in the third on goals from Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi.
Brendan Smith tied the game to force extra time with under three minutes left in regulation.
Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves to pick up the win.
“You have to tip your hat to Lundqvist, he’s a great goalie and that was a great effort by him keeping them in it through 40 minutes,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “You knew they were going to push at some point. They’re a good team and they’re trying for their first win. They pushed in the third, but the shots were 11-10 [in favor of the Rangers], so it wasn’t like we sat back. Just one of those games, not much you can do.”
Brett Howden scored on a no-look between the legs, backhand in the first period.
“He’s (Howden) earned it,” Quinn said. “He’s built up a bank account in a short period of time. I gather if you ask all the other 12 forwards who they want to play with, he’s at the top of the list right now.”
[WATCH: All Sharks vs. Rangers highlights]
Aaron Dell had 24 saves in the loss.
“I thought our whole group was good. There weren’t many guys that weren’t going tonight,” DeBoer said. “We could have had five or six [goals]. As a coach, you’ve got to realistically look at it. We would have loved two points. We probably deserved two points, but those games are going to happen over a long season. We’re doing a lot more right than wrong right now.”
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