On the tail end of their road trip, the Edmonton Oilers outlasted the New York Rangers in a battle of the goaltenders. Many of the NHL’s legends have called New York and Edmonton home. Adam Graves developed his goal-scoring ability in both cities. After much success in Edmonton, Mark Messier accomplished his goal by bringing the first Stanley Cup to The Big Apple in 54 years. Defensemen Kevin Lowe and Jeff Beukeboom also had stints in Alberta and The Empire State. Tonight, both historic clubs took the ice under the iconic ceiling of Madison Square Garden.
Both hockey clubs entered tonight’s contest 7-3-0 in their last ten games. The Oilers are making their rounds in the New York Metropolitan area, capping off their road trip in Midtown Manhattan. They struggled on Long Island against the pesky Islanders. Although, they took advantage of struggling goaltending on Thursday in a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. Friday night would be a difficult task ahead for both clubs.
Rangers-Oilers Recap: Battle of Goaltenders
First Period Takeaway: Kicking and Screaming
Peter Laviolette chose the red-hot Jonathan Quick for Friday’s tilt with Edmonton. The Connecticut-born netminder has been the talk of the town, entering his eleventh start with a solid 9-0-1 record. Edmonton jumped from the start, earning the first five shots. The Oilers tested Quick’s short side early, yet the 37-year-old would not budge for now.
The Blueshirts took a page from The Goonies’ book and would never say die. New York’s top line continued to buzz and got the scoring going thanks to Blake Wheeler’s fifth of the campaign.
A thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/EF0089pKZa
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 23, 2023
Mika Zibanejad’s primary assist might be one of the prettier ones you will see this season. The redirect with his skate left Wheeler speechless. You can tell that Zibanejad played a decent amount of footy growing up, doing his best Freddie Ljungberg impression. The Swedish centreman now has 19 points since November 22.
Second Period Takeaway: Countless Chances, Yet Nothing To Show For
A disciplined opening period called for a special teams showdown during the middle twenty minutes. When the best powerplay in the East matches up with the best from the West, you would expect several goal-scoring opportunities. Yet, the Edmonton powerplay was countered with New York’s penalty kill, ranked fifth in the National Hockey League.
New York’s two breaks on the man advantage were met by the improved play of Stuart Skinner. Skinner, who has improved in his last ten outings, made stellar stop after stellar stop during the first forty minutes. What stood out the most from Skinner’s performance tonight was his lateral movement. The Rangers are a team that prefers to beat their opponent via East-to-West. Typically, they will implement cross-crease passes to generate open nets. Skinner continued to find his posts in a fast-paced manner. It would take a lot more than an initial shot to beat both goaltenders.
The main headline of the second period was the superb play of Jonathan Quick. He continues to amaze everyone with the things he can do in his crease at the age of 37. From the splits to flashing to leather, he is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the puck out of the net. It would be a matter of who would make the first mistake during the final twenty minutes.
Third Period Takeaway: Déjà Vu All Over Again
Even with an in-form goaltender, one goal is not enough to win you a hockey game. With limiting the league’s best powerplay for two periods, Edmonton generated enough momentum to find themselves on the scoresheet not once, but four times in the third period alone.
The Oilers started their scoring with their top line thanks to a Zach Hyman top-shelf backhander. His nineteenth of the season sparked a flurry of tallies that would find their way past Jonathan Quick.
We call this the Zach hand ? pic.twitter.com/GabcYqw1cf
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 23, 2023
Quickly after Hyman’s goal, Evander Kane would tally his thirteenth of the year by crashing the frame of Quick. You know what they always say, great things happen when you put the puck on net.
Candy Kane gives us the lead ? pic.twitter.com/6wfjspuhi9
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 23, 2023
Goals from Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod would make it four unanswered goals in the third period alone. Another come-from-behind win is on the horizon, right?
The Rangers pulled Quick with about five minutes remaining to get the extra attacker on early. On their final powerplay of the game, Zibanejad pounced on a loose puck to find his twelfth of the year.
With less than a second remaining, Will Cuylle found his sixth goal of his career, but that would be all from Madison Square Garden. The Oilers found themselves on top with a 4-3 win, ending their Metro road trip on a high.
An All New York Affair For Saturday
The Rangers are back in action on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres. Don Granato’s squad are coming off their most impressive victory of their: a 9-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is likely that Igor Shesterkin will get the start for New York as the Rangers will look to turn things around.
Puck drop is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. from The World’s Most Famous Arena.
Main photo by: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
