NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 26: Dylan Holloway #55 of the Edmonton Oilers scores his first NHL goal during the third period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 26, 2022 in New York City. The Oilers defeated the Rangers 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
In 40 minutes on Saturday, the Rangers understood the mission. The pregame chatter about them facing the “extra challenge” that comes with defending Connor Mcdavid and the high-octane Edmonton Oilers for 60 minutes was 2/3 of the way there, and the team also took advantage of a 3-0 lead, a that seemed more important in the gameplay due to some disallowed goals.
But in the third period, the Blueshirts eased off and started to burn oil, which allowed Edmonton to rally for a 4-3 win in front of a stunned 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.
We have been put on our heels,” said captain Jacob Trouba. “I don’t think we left them.”
It bodes well for the sentiment of a defensive unit this season that has struggled to grow stronger each time it is without top prop Ryan Lindgren, who left mid-morning due to injury.
Initially, the Rangers, wearing their retro jerseys reversed, looked like a team delighted to return home after a four-game trip to the West Coast.
New York scored three minutes into the game when Adam Fox fired the puck, which Alexis Lafrenière tipped for his third goal of the season, giving his team a 1-0 lead.
The Blueshirts continued to dictate play and were rewarded for their efforts when Mattias Janmark tripped Vincent Trocheck, sending them on the power play. Artemi Panarin, who entered the contest scoreless in 11 consecutive games, beat Jack Campbell to the man advantage that followed. Unfortunately, he was called up after a successful challenge in Edmonton due to Panarin not getting the puck into the offensive zone before Trocheck entered, rendering him offside.
In the second, Edmonton generated pressure, but Shesterkin blocked them on a 14-stop streak.
Meanwhile, after Campbell stole Panarin’s one-time shot from the side of the goal line and Kappo Kako missed a wide-open net, Rangers finally got opportunistic on their side of the ice, as Libor Hajek fed Sammy Blais, who made a strong move. the goal and found Braiden Schneider who scored to double New York’s lead. However, the Blueshirts fell victim to the crunch room for the second time of the day as it was ruled that Ryan Carpenter interfered with the Oilers goaltender, keeping what should have been a 3-0 game now, 1 -0.
Luckily, as the period drew to a close, the puck finally bounced in the Rangers direction. A saved chance from Ryan Lindgren presented itself to Chris Kreider, who put it on Campbell before Julien Gauthier won a run in front of the net 32 seconds later to officially make it a hockey game 3-0.
As the frame ended, the crowd hailed their heroes for their resilience in overcoming those two prescribed counts. They were set to enjoy the final 20 minutes of what would be considered a fundamentally good win.
After all, it was 3-0, and New York had Vézina’s defending winner in net who was at the top of his game with an inspired defense ahead of him, delivering a spirited performance against one of the game’s top threats. league. , which has scored losers in 7 of its last 10 games. What could go wrong?
Signs of trouble appeared when Edmonton’s best power play received a snipe from Evan Bouchard, whose first goal of the season just 4:40 into the period spoiled the shutout offer of Shesterkin’a.
Moments later, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins caught Lindgren high with a big jab, sending NO55 to the locker room, and he wouldn’t return to action, later being listed as “day-day”. Seeing their opponent was down, Edmonton pressed and used their breakneck speed to wear down the New York defense.
With 12:28 to go, they closed in on a goal when defender Bouchard scored his second against Shesterkin less than three minutes later to cut the visitor’s deficit to 3-2.
The Rangers were in shock, and the Oilers knew it, continually putting the Blueshirts on their heels before eventually making the night when a Trouba turnover was all 21-year-old rookie Dylan Halloway, the 14th overall pick. of the 2020 Draft, needed for his first NHL Goal, beating Igor’s short side to tie.
With 2:26 to go, Lafrenière was boxed in for a tough test, prompting what would have been a ‘strong blow’ from the Rangers GM (Perhaps Chris Drury?) stand, who could only dread what was to come. afterwards. All it took was 24 seconds on the man advantage to Leon Draisatil to put the home fans out of their misery, as he overshot Kreider in the slot and slipped the pass from Mcdavid in the net to give Edmonton a 4-3 lead, one they wouldn’t give up on to complete a euphoric victory.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “We talked about it between periods. We spoke with the players. Sometimes it just happens. We had a few downtimes. We tried to reset and (say) “Let’s do it again. “… But they scored four goals in the third period for no reason other than we gave them chances and two bad penalties. It’s embarassing.”
The loss was New York’s 7th in their first 11 home games this year, one that took them down to 10-8-4 overall, and the fact that it was the white-hot New Jersey Devils (18- 4-0) coming into MSG on Monday night doesn’t make this one feel any better. It wasn’t the first time the Blueshirts had snuffed out a multi-goal lead at home this season, as it happened on Nov. 6 in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings and two days later , where they squandered a 3-1 lead to rival Islanders. But Saturday’s post-match show was the first time you could get the sense that doubt about how they would fare for the rest of the season had crept into the dressing room.
“I don’t know,” replied a crestfallen Mika Zibanejad when asked after the match how the team was going forward. This line echoes what the fanbase may be thinking as everyone searches for answers as to why a team that was two wins away from a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals last year has suddenly struggling to put together the wins.
It is often said in this space that Rangers have played well but have yet to receive any chance luck.
But on an afternoon when they had just about everything going for them, they failed to capitalize. Their latest fall from grace means that when they prepare for practice Sunday morning, the New York Rangers will find themselves out of the current Eastern Conference playoff picture.
FREEDOM CURSE:
Rangers are yet to register a win while wearing their retro shirts reversed, falling to 0-3. Their next game with them is Dec. 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
KRAVTSOV STILL OUT:
Vitali Kravtsov has been left out of Rangers’ line-up for the seventh game in a row, sparking trade rumours. The 22-year-old striker selected ninth overall in 2018, has played just six games this season and has been largely held out due to multiple injuries. The team says he was cleared, but he’s been listed as a “Healthy Scratch” the past four games. Something has to give.
