NEW YORK — Without so many key players, and playing a busy schedule against quality opponents, the Red Wings keep earning early-season points.
On Sunday at Madison Square Garden, they rallied from a first-period deficit to win, 3-2, in overtime on Dominik Kubalik's sixth goal at 2 minutes, 43 seconds.
The win lifted the Wings to 7-4-2 (16 points) on the season, with goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic earning the victory after several rough starts on the road.
The Wings won three consecutive games over Washington, the New York Islanders and Rangers in a four-day stretch.
This despite losing Filip Zadina on Saturday (he is likely gone for weeks), and having Tyler Bertuzzi, Oskar Sundqvist, Robby Fabbri and Jakub Vrana out of the lineup.
But other players continue to step up.
Matt Luff and Pius Suter scored second-period goals, two of the players making key contributions, to rally the Wings from a 2-0 deficit after one period.
Luff started the comeback with his first goal as a Red Wing at the 2:56 mark. Luff cruised the slot and deflected Ben Chiarot's shot from the point past goaltender Jaroslav Halak.
Luff has been noticeable since being recalled from Grand Rapids six games ago when Michael Rasmussen was suspended.
A big winger with good instincts, Luff has fit nicely into a bottom-six role. After sustaining a badly cut lip over a week ago which required 16 stitches, Luff was at practice the next day and played the next game in Buffalo.
"He's connected within our structure, made some simple plays, helped us out with some offensive zone play," coach Derek Lalonde said last week. "That’s the culture of hockey. Put the facemask on (after the puck to the face) and he didn't miss a beat. He was appreciative of being one of the first call-ups and getting this opportunity and he's taking full advantage of it."
The Wings sustained pressure after Luff's goal and it finally paid off with Suter tying the game at the 8:37 mark.
Suter scored his third goal, and second in two games, tapping in a loose puck near the post past Halak.
Suter, too, has been a valuable plug-in for the Wings thus far. A steady player in the bottom-six forwards, Suter was on the top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond the two games over the weekend.
"He's a big part of the team," Lalonde said. "He's been playing super well and, again, an important part of the team."
Kaapo Kakko and Mika Zibanejad (power play) had first-period goals for the Rangers.
Kakko pounced on a loose puck in the slot that slid off diving defenseman Moritz Seider, and Kakko had plenty of time to settle and pick a high corner on Nedeljkovic for his third goal at 9:14.
The Rangers extended the lead on the power play.
Artemi Panarin had the puck in the high slot, faked, and perfectly fed Zibanejad for a one-timer from the dot, cleanly beating Nedeljkovic at 15:51. It was Zibanejad's seventh goal, six of which have come on the power play.
