Wild drop game to Rangers in overtime, mistakes turning costly over and over

NEW YORK – The Wild have enough trouble on offense without making life tougher on themselves.

When that happened Wednesday night against the Rangers, not even their best output in recent memory was enough.

They were blitzed on two turnovers and had one of their own goals called back because of goaltender interference in a 5-4 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden that continued their late-season slide.

They’ve dropped three in a row and five of their past six but tied the Blues at 89 points to reclaim the first wild card in the Western Conference; the Wild own the tiebreaker because they have more regulation wins.

“Everyone behind us is winning, so obviously it’s nothing we’re happy about,” forward Mats Zuccarello said. “It’s hard right now. Some mistakes end up in the back of our net. That happens.”

New York’s Vincent Trocheck scored the final go-ahead goal 24 seconds into overtime, redirecting in an Artemi Panarin feed, after the Wild’s Marco Rossi delivered the equalizer just 22 seconds into the third period.

That atoned for a messy second by the Wild after a solid first-period effort left them ahead 2-1.

First, K’Andre Miller sneaked a shot over goaltender Filip Gustavsson and under the crossbar 2:51 into the second to even the score.

Then, Chris Kreider lifted in a backhander at 7:21 after Declan Chisholm bobbled the puck next to the Wild net and forced Gustavsson into a save, with Kreider collecting the rebound; this was Chisholm’s first game back since getting hurt March 24 vs. the Stars.

But both sides were making mistakes with the puck and getting punished for it.

“It’s hockey,” said Marcus Johansson, who had three points. “Mistakes are going to happen.”

Take Trocheck’s giveaway during a New York power play that led to a Johansson shorthanded goal set up by Gustav Nyquist at 9:50.

The Wild capitalized next, too, when Zuccarello drained a rebound behind goalie Igor Shesterkin, but the goal was waved off because Ryan Hartman bumped into Shesterkin.

Another steal — by the Rangers after Miller slashed Rossi — regained the lead for New York after Panarin buried a breakaway with 1:04 remaining in the second period.

Again, the Wild responded after their miscue.

This time, Rossi was the beneficiary of a turnover, and after he passed off to Matt Boldy, Rossi poked in the rebound for his 23rd.

“Mistakes happen, and you don’t try to think about it,” Rossi said. “Obviously, you want to keep playing on. I think I was playing really good, so we had nothing to change.”

A series of penalties ensued, including three against the Wild, but neither power play took advantage; the Rangers went 0-for-4, while the Wild finished 1-for-2. Those penalty kills helped the Wild pick up a valuable point, but Trocheck made up for his earlier gaff to deny the Wild a much-needed victory.

“Created pretty good offensive game today, to be honest with you, compared to what we had been before,” Zuccarello said. “But gotta keep it out of our net.”

Despite getting severely outshot in the first period, the Wild were efficient, going 1-for-2 and 2-for-4 on their limited looks.

They converted on the power play nine minutes into the period when Johansson found Nyquist at the back post for a carom that was Nyquist’s first goal in 16 games with the Wild since coming over in a trade from the Predators.

Braden Schneider answered back at 12:45 when he polished off a rebound, but the tie didn’t last long; Brock Faber sunk a five-hole shot behind Shesterkin (20 saves) with five minutes left in the first.

Gustavsson made 17 of his 34 saves in that period, the goalie returning to the crease after the Wild’s 3-2 shootout loss on Monday to the Devils.

Their road trip concludes Friday vs. the Islanders and without Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek.

BOXSCORE: Rangers 5, Wild 4 (OT)

NHL standings

They’ve returned to Minnesota after Kaprizov met with his doctor and received “positive feedback,” coach John Hynes said.

Kaprizov, who is recovering from surgery on a lower-body injury, is going to begin the next phase of his rehab, which includes taking contact. The Wild are hopeful he will suit up before the regular season ends April 15, but Hynes said he doesn’t have a specific date for a return.

As for Eriksson Ek, the team is also hopeful he will be back; he’s been out with a lower-body injury that would sideline him six to eight weeks, Hynes said, and this upcoming week is the sixth.

“We created a bunch of chances,” Zuccarello said. “If we can keep it up this way and keep it out of our net, hopefully we can get those two guys back and get in the playoffs and hopefully do well.”