Kubalik, Red Wings defeat Rangers in OT for third straight win

NEW YORK — Dominic Cuban scored after 2:43 of overtime, and the Detroit Red Wings earned a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Kubalik won it from near the right post after getting a backdoor pass from David Peron to a power game. A video review initiated by the NHL Situation Room confirmed the game was on the side.

“I landed in front knowing ‘DP’ was just looking at me and I was hoping he would just put it there,” Kubalik said. “It ended up on the net so it worked pretty well and I’m very happy about that. We deserved it. We deserved it.”

Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves for the Red Wings (7-3-2), who have won three games in a row, including beating the New York Islanders 3-0 in Detroit on Saturday.

“Being 2-0 down in the first game can be a tough climb but we kept at it,” said Nedeljkovic. “We have an identity that we’re trying to shape here and we’ve felt good about getting flashes of it so far this year. It’s just about doing it every single night. Even if you don’t get the results, it still plays the right way. That’s how you’ll win most nights.”

Nedeljkovic gave up eight goals in his last start, a 3-8 loss at the Buffalo Sabers on Oct. 31.

“That bothered me the most against Buffalo,” said Perron. “We’re going to lose games, but we kind of let it slip away. If you want him to be comfortable with his game, you need to help him more than we did there. You can lose a game, maybe 5-3, 6-3 at that point, that’s fine. You can’t go to eight. It just kills his confidence. What a rebound game from him.

Video: [email protected]: Kubalik lifts Red Wings past Rangers in OT

Kaapo Kako and Mika Zibanejad scored, and Yaroslav Halak made 33 saves for Rangers (6-4-5), who have lost back-to-back after a three-game win streak at home.

New York changed their attacking ranks to start the third half after scoring just six shots on target in the second. Chris Kreider was demoted from first to fourth row, playing 3:09 in third and 57 seconds in overtime.

“It sure is brewing a bit,” said Rangers coach Gerard Gallant. “I was just trying to shake things up a bit and see if we can wake up some guys. [Kreider] deserved to be where he was. He wasn’t alone.”

Kakko used a rebound from Kreider’s defense, which was blocked by Moritz Seider to give New York a 1-0 lead with 9:14 of the first period. It was Kreider’s 200th NHL assist.

Video: [email protected]: Zibanejad extends lead with PPG at No. 1

Zibanejad scored on the power play to make it 2-0 at 16:56 with a one-timer in the left circle. He took a pass from Artemi Panarin after the forward faked a shot and found an open zibanejad for his seventh goal of the season and sixth man advantage, tied the Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid for most in the NHL.

Matt Luff brought Detroit to 2-1 at 2:56 of the second period and deflected Ben Chiarotis filmed while Halak is being performed. Pius Suter then equalized at 8:37 a.m. with a rebound after Halak’s saves from close range to make it 2:2 Dylan Larkin and Filip Hronek.

Halak, who held the 2-2 by robbing Hronek of the third from point-blank range at 19:26, has not won in four starts this season (0-3-1). The 37-year-old signed a one-year deal on July 13.

“We missed the second third,” Rangers defended Jacob oven said. “That’s all you need. You have to find a way to play a whole game. I don’t think we’ve gotten really consistent 60 minutes very often this season. That’s what it takes to play this We seem to have decent starts and then the second third goes away [Halak]we probably won’t get a point tonight.”

REMARKS: Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde reiterated that he doesn’t expect Filip Zadina back any time soon. The forward was helped off the ice after being hit in the left leg by a 5:19 shot in the third period on Saturday. “Something’s broken,” Lalonde said. “Lower body. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a week-to-week, month-to-month thing.” … Andrew Copp played 19:08 in his first game against Rangers since signing a five-year contract with Detroit on July 13. New York acquired Copp from the Winnipeg Jets on March 21. … Rangers forward Philip Chytil played 1:39 after missing six games with an upper-body injury. … Rangers defender Ryan Lindgren (upper body) is day by day.