Recap: Rangers Fall 3-1 to Oilers as Power Play Struggles Persist

In the second half of their weekend back-to-back, the Rangers hosted the Edmonton Oilers. Looking to build off their big 4-0 win the night prior, the coaching staff went right back to Igor Shesterkin for the first time this season in any back-to-back stretch. Despite an overall solid showing, the Rangers went 0-3 on the power play and continue to fall short of establishing a win streak which does not speak well to their playoff aspirations.

1st Period: 

Just over a minute into the game, the Rangers were given a power play chance as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was called for slashing Vincent Trocheck at the blue line. J.T. Miller came real close to giving the Rangers the lead as he hit the post with a one timer but the Rangers would come out of the advantage unsuccessful despite both power play units seeing time and some quality chances. 

Not long after the teams returned to even strength, Edmonton was sent to the power play as Zac Jones got tangled up with Jeff Skinner resulting in a hooking call. That’s the third game in a row that Jones has been penalized but a pretty weak call that Skinner kind of sold. Bookmark that for later in the period. Nevertheless, the Rangers were successful in killing off the first infraction, keeping Edmonton to just one shot on goal throughout the power play. 

With eight and a half to go, the Rangers were back to the penalty kill as J.T. Miller took Connor McDavid down away from the puck for interference. Will Cuylle had an early shorthanded chance on a race for the puck that Skinner ended up throwing into the corner but it was mostly Edmonton from there. The Oilers got away with a too-many men call that the Rangers bench was doing their best to call out to the officials and McDavid had a textbook McDavid rush that was defended tremendously by Adam Fox to help kill off the second Edmonton power play of the period. 

With three minutes to go, Sam Carrick had a nice rush to the net that created a rebound chance for Kreider but there were too many skates and bodies in the way to get the already rolling puck back on net. Two minutes later, Jeff Skinner took the puck to the Rangers net which led to a strong push from the Oilers but ended with 67 seconds to go in the period as K’Andre Miller was called for hooking Skinner on his second drive to the net. Again, a pretty weak call as Miller’s stick was just caught in the armpit of Skinner but the officials felt otherwise. 

Third time would be the charm for the Oilers as a shot from the point created a battle in front after Shesterkin made the initial save. Corey Perry would end up getting enough on it to flip the puck in off the glove of a sprawling Shesterkin to put his team on the board, 1-0 Edmonton. 

Definitely a frustrating one to give up, especially on a play that probably wasn’t worth a penalty to begin with but not much you can do about it aside from getting the next one. Miller had a lengthy conversation with one of the officials at the end of what was otherwise a solid period on all accounts. Shots were 12-7 in Edmonton’s favor but both sides were playing strong defensively with minimal high danger chances either way. For the Rangers, the biggest thing moving forward was staying out of the box. 

2nd Period:

After some back and forth from both sides which involved some extended shifts in either zone, the Rangers went the other way with Artemi Panarin leading the rush. With Braden Schneider joining the rush, Panarin centered it back to the pinching defender who fed it right over to Trocheck. Will Cuylle went right to the net and did an outstanding job of outworking not one, but two defending Oilers players to ensure that the puck Trocheck threw in his direction crossed the line, tying the game up 1-1. 

Not long after, Matt Rempe showed that all the extra time he’s spending working on his skating is paying off as he sprinted past everyone and ended up on a breakaway that Skinner was able to shut down. Would’ve been better if he finished but man, seeing Rempe make plays like that is incredibly encouraging. 

Just two and a half minutes out from the midway mark, J.T. Miller was sent back to the box, this time for delay of game as he flipped the puck out of play. Thankfully, the Rangers handled that penalty kill better than the last and were able to come out of it unscathed. Great pace continued from there and with seven and a half to go, the Rangers were back to the power play as a good rush from the fourth line drew a hooking penalty to Vasily Podkolzin. 

The Rangers again came up empty handed on the power play as they only had one shot on goal to show for. To make matters worse in that regard, Trocheck and Panarin had a 2-on-1 later in the period and again, tried to force a pass instead of letting a shot go. Especially in a 1-1 game where shots on goal have been few and far between, you have to take advantage of every chance you get. 

That would about do it for the second as Panarin and Trocheck almost had a second odd man rush as the horn sounded. Shots after two were now 18-15 in Edmonton’s favor but the Rangers had them beat 8-6 in the shot count for the second period. Good pace and good action through forty minutes, setting the stage for a big third period.

3rd Period:

After a slower start to the period, the Rangers had a good chance as J.T. Miller drove hard to the net to catch and release a floating pass that was dished ahead by a teammate but not strong enough to result in a goal. As the Oilers went the other way with it, a good defensive play by Viktor Arvidsson preceded a give and go with Nugent-Hopkins. The shot from Arvidsson ended up deflecting off the stick of Zac Jones, fooling Shesterkin to find the back of the net, 2-1 Edmonton.

The Rangers followed that up with a solid shift from the third line as Sam Carrick drove hard to the net as Skinner wasn't confident he had the puck fully covered. After that, it was J.T. Miller's line spending close to two minutes in Edmonton's end of the ice, moving the puck and generating a number of quality chances. At other points this season, this team very well could have rolled over and quit but in the moment, it certainly felt like this team was showing some fight.

Nearing the midway point, Jeff Skinner was called for cross-checking to give the Rangers an opportune power play. The call came as Brodzinski and Carrick were coming in on an odd-man rush at the end of a long shift. The top power play unit stayed on the ice for the entire two minutes and again, had some really strong looks, primarily with J.T. Miller as a one-timer option but could not catch a break as the score remained 2-1 as the teams returned to even strength.

As time was becoming a concern, Connor McDavid decided to do his thing after beating Trocheck on a face-off. Once he regained possession in the neural zone he flew right to the slot and let a shot go to beat Shesterkin, extending the Oilers' lead to 3-1.

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin once play resumed but as Peter Baugh pointed out the other day, they don't exactly thrive at 6-on-5.

The Rangers didn't give up, I'll give them that. They even played pretty good all things considered. Alas, they ended up with a 3-1 loss to the Oilers Largely in part to special teams and the lack of production on the power play.

Fact of the matter is, this loss doesn't matter. This isn't a game that's going to cost them the playoffs, this isn't the game they should hang their heads on and this certainly isn't the game to send this fan base into a frenzy. It's all the embarrassing performances that resulted in inexcusable losses throughout November, December, January and February that do all those things. A brutal reminder that this team has already made their bed and will be ready to lie in it come early April.

That concludes a busy week on the road as the Rangers kick off a week long home-stand, back at it Tuesday Night against the Calgary Flames.