A Sunday night showdown (March 16) at Madison Square Garden saw the Edmonton Oilers battle the New York Rangers. This was the second and final meeting of the season between these two clubs, with Edmonton winning the first matchup 6-2 on Nov. 23 at Rogers Place. Both teams are in playoff races, as Edmonton is fighting for second place in the Pacific Division, and New York is looking to maintain the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The road team came away victorious in this one, as the Oilers defeated the Rangers 3-1 in this low-scoring affair to sweep the two-game season series. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
Edmonton opened the scoring on the power play with 43 seconds remaining in the first period. Leon Draisaitl threw the puck on the net and Corey Perry pounced on the loose puck to bury his 15th goal of the season, beating goaltender Igor Shesterkin with the backhand. The Oilers outshot the Rangers 12-7 in the period and had a 3-1 power play advantage.
New York tied the game five minutes into the middle frame. Vincent Trocheck’s centering pass was denied, but Will Cuylle jammed in the loose puck, beating goaltender Stuart Skinner for his 18th of the season. A few minutes later, Matt Rempe had a breakaway, but he was denied by the Oilers’ netminder, keeping the game deadlocked. Therefore, this game was tied heading into the second intermission, with Edmonton having an 18-15 shot advantage.
The Oilers took the lead 6:09 into the third period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins found Viktor Arvidsson off the rush and his shot ramped off the defender’s sick, and upstairs past Shesterkin for his ninth of the season. Then, midway through the period, Mika Zibanejad was robbed by Skinner to preserve the Oilers’ lead. That save was massive because Connor McDavid extended Edmonton’s lead 16:35 into the period. He entered the zone and ripped a shot glove side for his 25th of the season. That was all the offence as the Oilers came away with the victory.
Skinner was great in this one, stopping 21 of 22 shots for a .955 save percentage (SV%) in the victory. Shesterkin stopped 20 of 23 shots for a .870 SV% in the loss.
The Rangers continue their four-game homestand on Tuesday (March 18) against the Calgary Flames. Meanwhile, the Oilers return home the same day to begin their own four-game homestand against the Utah Hockey Club.
