New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello scored the game-winning goal in Saturday night’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers. The tight game came down to a shootout and the 23-year-old Norwegian, Zuccarello, added the last tally in a shootout for a 3-2 victory in the capital of Georgia. The Rangers were behind in the game until 5 minutes and 19 seconds left in regulation, when Brian Boyle scored to tie the game, forcing overtime. Getting to overtime and shootout was an accomplishment of its own as the Rangers started the game with six forwards injured and unable to play.
Throughout overtime the Rangers hung on, lead by their goalkeeper, Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 20 shots before giving a perfect performance in four shootout rounds. This win broke the negative streak of losing four games in a row. Zuccarello stated he was glad to get this lucky win considering many players had to step up to roles they had not been familiar with. “Battling hard and losing two guys and having other players step up really hard was big.” Wojtek Wolski for example, who has only played in seven games of the Rangers, added a second-period goal to let his team stay in the game.
