The Rangers were able to rely on Jonathan Quick’s heroics in a one-goal game once already this season, but it wasn’t sustainable this time around against a high-powered Oilers team.
Edmonton scored four goals in the third period to post a 4-3 win against the Rangers, after the home team defended a one-goal lead for a majority of the game in front of an invested and reactive Friday night crowd at Madison Square Garden.
The loss snapped the Rangers’ three-game winning streak.
It was a 1-0 game through just over 43 minutes after the Blueshirts struck first in the opening frame off a goal from Blake Wheeler.
The Oilers finally managed to put one past Quick in the final frame, when Zach Hyman and Evander Kane scored 1:08 apart to notch their first lead of the night with 15:43 left in regulation.
Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod notched goals later in the period as well to spin this game entirely in Edmonton’s favor.
That coveted second wind never came for the Rangers, who outshot the Oilers 34-28.
The Rangers nearly doubled their lead on the power play in the second period, when Mika Zibanejad’s one-timer went off Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner’s helmet and rebounded to Artemi Panarin for the wide-open shot.
Skinner’s helmet fell off, however, which prompted the officials to whistle the play dead.
The sequence went under review, but the initial no-goal call was upheld and the score remained 1-0 in favor of the Rangers.
Still, the Rangers escaped the second period unscathed thanks to Quick’s heroics during two penalty kills.
Quick, who shut out the Oilers at the end of October, was stellar until Edmonton carved up the Rangers’ defense in front of him.
Finishing with 24 saves, Quick had the Garden crowd on its feet at one point during an Oilers power play in the middle frame, when Connor McDavid and Co. peppered him with shot after shot.
The 37-year-old netminder had his head on a swivel and got in front of everything the Oilers threw at him, including a split save on a Hyman shot in tight.
It ignited a “QUICK-IE” chant that reverberated around the whole arena.
Alas, Edmonton broke open the game in the third period and the Rangers’ five-on-five offense wasn’t going enough to recover.
Zibanejad’s power-play goal at the 15:42 mark of the final frame cut the Rangers’ deficit, 4-2, before Will Cuylle notched a last-second tally with the extra skater on and an empty net, but it wasn’t enough.
After not having to face McDavid in the first meeting with the Oilers earlier this season, the Rangers held the five-time Art Ross Trophy winner to one assist and one shot on goal.
Though No. 97’s sheer presence gave the Oilers a different dynamic than what the Rangers saw in Edmonton.
The Rangers’ top line of Chris Kreider, Zibanejad and Wheeler were buzzing early, causing havoc in the offensive zone and testing Skinner right off the bat.
It was only fitting that the trio opened the scoring just over 11 minutes into the game.
Kreider sent a pass along the boards and behind the Oilers net to Zibanejad, who tipped the puck backwards and between his legs to Wheeler for the five-hole shot.
Wheeler’s look of utter shock, displayed in a wide-open smile, said all there was to say about the pass from Zibanejad.
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