Rangers vs Oilers: Rangers Make Comeback Effort But Fall 7-5 in Edmonton
The New York Rangers had their two-game winning streak snapped this evening after they were defeated 7-5 by the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton jumped out to a 6-0 lead in this game, but somehow, the Rangers fought back in the third period and made it 6-5. Alexandar Georgiev was yanked from the game after allowing six goals on 24 shots, and Henrik Lundqvist finished the remainder of the game in the crease.
1st Period
James Neal (17) - Zack Kassian (14) & Oscar Klefbom (20) - 0:11 1st Period
Edmonton caught the Rangers off guard right from the opening faceoff and they jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 11 seconds into the game. James Neal was able to break coverage in front of the net as Zack Kassian made a spinning pass from the corner, and Neal tapped the puck over Alexandar Georgiev. The Rangers were simply too relaxed in front of their own net, and they were burned for it pretty quickly.
James Neal (18) PPG - Oscar Klefbom (21) & Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (14) - 8:46 1st Period
About eight minutes after his opening goal, James Neal added another marker to the tally as he scored his 18th of the season. Once again, the Rangers left the front of the net completely uncontested on the power play, and James Neal had the entire front of the crease to himself. Oscar Klefbom’s point shout wound up getting deflected in front by Neal, and the puck slipped under Georgiev’s glove hand.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (9) - Ethan Bear (9) & Jujhar Khaira (1) - 11:13 1st Period
As if the Rangers didn’t learn from the previous two goals against, Edmonton capitalized on their third goal of the period from in front of the net...again. Similar to Neal’s second goal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was able to redirect the puck off of a point shot from Ethan Bear, and fooled Georgiev. New York just had zero net-front presence throughout the first period, and they let the Oilers have their way in front of the net.
2nd Period
Leon Draisaitl (23) PPG - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (15) & James Neal (8) - 13:11 2nd Period
The Rangers weren’t much better during the second period, and Edmonton quickly blew the doors off of this game in a two minute span. Leon Draisaitl was able to capitalize on a loose puck in front of the net on an attempted pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Alexandar Georgiev wound up over-sliding while kicking across the crease, and Draisaitl had the entire net to shoot at.
James Neal (19) PPG - Connor McDavid (42) & Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (16) - 13:23 2nd Period
Following a questionable “slashing” call that led to the goal by Draisaitl, David Quinn lost it on the officials, and rightly so. Quinn was assessed a bench minor for airing his concerns with the officials, and that sent Edmonton to another power play. It took James Neal just 12 seconds into the power play to register his third goal of the night as he wired a slap shot past Georgiev.
Josh Archibald (3) - Riley Sheahan (2) - 15:04 2nd Period
As if five goals on the board wasn’t bad enough for the Rangers, Josh Archibald finished off the touchdown for Edmonton as they grabbed a 6-0 lead in this game. Alexandar Georgiev didn’t have a great night in the crease, but he also didn’t get much help in front of his net either. The Rangers just had no answer for the Oilers’ net-front presence and Henrik Lundqvist came into the game to relieve Georgiev.
Chris Kreider (12) - Artemi Panarin (31) & Brady Skjei (12) - 19:34 2nd Period
It took nearly 40 minutes, but the Rangers finally stopped the bleeding at the 19:34 mark of the second period. Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider connected on a 2-on-1 while shorthanded, and Panarin made an excellent cross-ice feed over to Kreider driving the net. Mikko Koskinen wasn’t able to slide over to his far post in time, and Kreider slipped the puck past him to make it a 6-1 game.
3rd Period
Ryan Strome (11) - Adam Fox (13) & Artemi Panarin (32) - 4:38 3rd Period
For the first time through two periods of play, the Rangers carried the play for the opening few minutes of the third period. They were able to translate that strong play in their second goal of the evening, and Ryan Strome picked up his 13th of the year. Artemi Panarin made an excellent play by holding up at the blue line, and fired a quick cross-ice pass over to Adam Fox. After receiving the pass, Fox hesitated for a second but found Ryan Strome wide open on the back post and brought the Rangers back within four goals.
Marc Staal (2) - Ryan Strome (26) & Artemi Panarin (33) - 11:29 3rd Period
The Rangers continued to push the play in Edmonton’s end, and Artemi Panarin worked his magic once again. Marc Staal handed the puck off to Panarin as he entered the zone, and headed straight towards the net. Panarin made an unreal saucer pass right through the middle of the ice, and Strome appeared to score the goal from the high slot. The goal was originally credited to Strome but was changed after the puck deflected in off of Staal’s stick in front of the net.
Artemi Panarin (22) - Unassisted - 12:07 3rd Period
Less than a minute later, Panarin continued his incredible third period and added a goal for himself. It seemed like a rather harmless play, but the wonderful about Panarin is that he can turn those types of plays into meaningful goals. He was able to catch Mikko Koskinen off guard with a quick wrist shot off to the right of the net, and suddenly, the Rangers only found themselves trailing by a pair of goals.
Mika Zibanejad (16) - Adam Fox (14) & Tony DeAngelo (21) - 16:15 3rd Period
Considering how the opening two periods transpired, it wasn’t even a thought that the Rangers would somehow find a way back into this game. But sure enough, with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Mika Zibanejad made it a one goal game. Adam Fox setup Zibanejad with a ridiculous cross-ice feed, and Mikko Koskinen wound up snagging the shot with his glove. However, as Koskinen was coming down to the ice, his glove hand crossed the goal line and it was ruled a good goal.
Kailer Yamamoto (1) - Jujhar Khaira (2) - 18:53 3rd Period
The Rangers had come all the back from down 6-0 to make it a one-goal game, but their comeback efforts fell short during the final minute of play. An attempted pass by Artemi Panarin was cutoff in the middle of the ice, and Kailer Yamamoto iced the game with the empty netter.
The first two periods were an absolutely disaster for the Rangers, but they found a way to make it a game during the third period. The fact that they even cam within a goal of tying that game is just absurd, and speaks volumes about the effort of this game. However, the defensive side of their game is what let the Rangers down tonight, and Edmonton snapped their two-game winning streak. Following tonight’s loss, the Rangers will have a scheduled off day tomorrow before returning to action on Thursday night against the Calgary Flames.
