NEW YORK — The Wild just about weathered another rotten start, rallying to tie the game in the second period before third-period goals by Alexis Lafrenière and Blake Wheeler put Minnesota away, 4-1, Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Lafrenière added two assists, and Artemi Panarin extended his points streak to 13 games with an assist on Lafrenière’s go-ahead goal and empty net goal in the third period, as the Rangers avenged a 5-4 shootout loss last Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

Louis Domingue, recalled from AHL Hartford before the game because of injuries to Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, stopped 26 shots as New York ended the Wild’s two-game win streak ahead of Friday night’s 6 p.m. CST puck drop at Buffalo.

Brandon Duhaime scored on a redirect of a shot through traffic by Brock Faber to tie the game 1-1 with 8 minutes left in the second period, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 24 shots — many of them Grade A chances.

But in a season full of slow starts, the Wild might have had their slowest on Thursday night, a somnambulant first period of bad passes, turnovers and general chasing that ended with the Rangers up 1-0 and outshooting Minnesota 14-2.

Vincent Torcheck scored 3 minutes, 56 seconds into the game on a Wild turnover at their blue line. Defensemen Dakota Mermis and Jake Middleton had possession of the puck and traded passes before Middleton moved to the half board.

Mermis sent a pass behind Middleton that caromed hard toward center ice and New York’s Erik Gustavsson beat a falling Brandon Duhaime to the puck before moving it forward to Alexis Lafrenière. Lafrenière quickly found Torcheck in the slot, and the center sent a wrist shot within inches of the near post for a 1-0 lead.

It got worse for Minnesota, but only aesthetically. The Wild were slow to pucks, lost most of their battles and struggled to put passes on tape, but the Rangers didn’t build on their lead. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped some Grade A chances, and New York whiffed on a few others.

That all changed right after the puck dropped for the second period, which started with the Wild’s best forecheck of the night, with two quick shots on that Domingue had to stop.

The Wild outshoot New York, 15-3, in the second period, but like the Rangers, only managed one goal — Duhaime’s redirect on a shot into traffic by Brock Faber that tied the game 1-1 at 12:33.

Still, the first period stood as a wasted 20 minutes for Minnesota, which fell behind almost immediately in the third period.

With the Wild starting a forecheck, Marco Rossi sent a no-look pass into the slot. The closest players were Rangers, and Faber pinched to try to keep the puck in the zone. But he missed, and Trocheck poked the puck to Artemin Panarin and New York had a 3 on 1 going the other way.

Panarin skated at Jonas Brodin, deep into the right slot, before sending a pass to Lafrenière for an easy one-timer into an empty corner for a 2-1 lead at 1:41.

After the game, the Wild were set to fly to Buffalo, where they’re scheduled to play the Sabres on Friday at 6 p.m. CST.