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Key takeaways after Rangers shut out again at home, setting NHL record
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- Key takeaways after Rangers shut out again at home, setting NHL record
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Just one week into their centennial season, the New York Rangers already did something that's never happened in NHL history. With their 2-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the Rangers became the only team ever to go scoreless in its first three home games of an NHL season.
What makes this the more maddening is that the Rangers again were the better team in most areas of the game. It's a similar script to what happened Sunday, when they were blanked 1-0 by the Washington Capitals at The Garden.
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This time, they out-shot the Oilers 30-22, and out-chanced them 35-17 in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick . The Rangers (2-3-0) held a sizeable 15-3 advantage in high-danger chances. They were up 9-0 in such scoring chances through the first two periods. The Rangers didn't take a single penalty and they largely shut down Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl .
The only thing the Rangers didn't do, again, was put the puck in the back of the net.
"First of all, let's not make this bigger than it is. It's game five. A lot to like about our game. It's a unique situation but let's not blow this out of proportion here," Rangers captain J.T. Miller s aid postgame .
Added veteran center Mika Zibanejad , with a slight smirk, "I don't know if I should laugh or cry."
Stuart Skinner earned his eighth career shutout for the Oilers, and first against the Rangers. He, Arturs Silovs of the Pittsburgh Penguins , and Charlie Lindgren of the Capitals have combined to stop all 90 Rangers shots over three games at MSG this season.
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Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 20 shots, including a sensational glove save while doing the splits to rob Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard in the first period. He was beaten only on a second-period shot by Trent Frederic . Edmonton's other goal was a late empty-netter by Adam Henrique , with Shesterkin on the bench for an extra attacker.
Skinner was sharp in a fast-paced first period, especially early on when he stoned Braden Schenider, Will Cuylle , and Zibanejad in the opening minutes. In the second period, he made pair of great saves on Grade-A chances by Adam Edstrom .
in eerily similar fashion to what happened against the Capitals on Sunday, the Rangers allowed the first goal of the game in the second period despite absolutely dominating the middle stanza.
This time it was Frederic slipping behind Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and beating Shesterkin with a forehand shot between the pads at 10:22. It was just one of three shots on goal the Oilers managed in the second period. On Sunday, Washington was out-shot 13-5 in the second period, but Anthony Beauvillier scored what turned out to be the game's only goal.
Against the Oilers, the Rangers had an 11-3 shots advantage in the second period, not to mention a whopping 82.97 percent expected goals share, per Natural Stat Trick . But nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, just like Sunday.
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Also like their previous game, the Rangers failed to take advantage of two power-play opportunities in the middle period. Edmonton's Troy Stecher was sent off 11 seconds after Frederic's goal for a holding the stick infraction. Then at 12:22, Draisaitl was assessed a high-sticking minor. The Rangers didn't score on the brief 5-on-3, nor on either power play.
It wasn't for lack of good looks, though. Skiner denied Miller's point-blank one-timer, and two other excellent chances by Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere . New York had four shots on goal and six scoring chances (including two of the high-danger variety) during the four-minutes of power-play time. But the goose egg stared back at them from the scoreboard.
The Rangers also kissed iron twice in the period — Schneider wristed a rebound off the post early, and Sam Carrick hammered a rush chance off the crossbar late.
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Brett Kulak accidentally high-sticked Vladislav Gavrikov at 8:19 of the third period to give the Rangers another prime opportunity to tie the game on the power play. But Skinner stopped four shots, including a pair of good chances by Artemi Panarin , and the Oilers continued to cling to their one-goal lead.
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Edmonton had two good third-period chances to double their advantage, but failed to do so. Bouchard was stoned again by Shesterkin, and Matt Savoie's right-wing shot off the rush with 6:01 remaining in regulation hit the post.
The Oilers finally put the Rangers away when Henrique scored into the empty-net at 18:52, the third empty-netter allowed by the Rangers in five games this season. This one was scored mere seconds after Zibanejad came within inches of tying the game with a 6-on-5 shot through traffic from the slot.
Let's examine some of the other key takeaways from the Rangers' 2-0 loss to the Oilers
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1. Rangers must 'stay the course'
Of course, this isn't the kind of history the Rangers want to be a part of. But the messaging that the good far outweighs the bad in this terribly frustrating stretch of futility is consistent and on point from the coach right on through the locker room.
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"We just have to stay the course. We got to dig in. Can't get discouraged," coach Mike Sullivan said after the game . "We just got to become more determined, and the pucks will go in the net for us. But we have to continue to do the things that are allowing us to generate the looks that we're getting. As long as we do that, I believe these guys are too talented, they're going to score goals."
And you know what? The coach is right. If the Rangers keep playing this well, they're going to win a lot of hockey games this season. They didn't let up Tuesday against the team that was Stanley Cup runner-up the past two years. They took the game to them, controlled large swaths of the 60 minutes, and overall were better than the Oilers.
Their scoring futility? This, too, shall pass.
2. Rangers captain helps neutralize Oilers superstars
Sullivan matched Miller's line (with Cuylle and Conor Sheary ) against Connor McDavid all night. And that Rangers threesome did a helluva' job neutralizing the best player in the game. McDavid didn't sniff his first shot on goal until recording a soft one into Shesterkin's pads late in the first period. And McDavid didn't really come alive until the third period, when he made a pretty feed to set up one excellent scoring chance and then assisted later on Henrique's empty-net goal.
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Miller was physical against McDavid, taking away his time and space, in a tenacious 22:20 worth of ice time.
The Oilers loaded up to begin the game, teaming McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line. They generated so little that coach Kris Knoblaugh separated the pair halfway through the game. McDavid finished with two shots on goal; Draisaitl, who was pointless, recorded only one shot attempt in 20:17 TOI.
3.'Which line is that?'
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This was a telling response by Sullivan, when asked postgame about the play of New York's fourth line.
"Which line is that?"
In other words, Sam Carrick, Matt Rempe , and Edstrom aren't viewed as your typical fourth line. They're a force out there, helping set the tone for a relentless attack night after night. And this was no exception. Carrick's line had a team-best expected goal share of 77.48 percent 5v5. That threesome also skated some shutdown shifts against McDavid's line, and was trusted far more than the "third" line of Noah Laba , Jonny Brodzinski , and Taylor Raddysh .
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Carrick just may have been New York's best all-around player Tuesday. Playing against his former team, the 33-year-old center was all over the ice, making key plays on each side of the puck. He nearly scored off a broken play in front of the Oilers net five minutes into the game, and then five minutes later set up Cuylle for a Grade-A chance with a quick-strike cross-ice pass. Carrick also set up each of Edstrom's glorious opportunities in the second period with precise passes after winning puck battles.
After driving a shot off the crossbar earlier in the third period, Carrick came close to tying the game with 2:31 remaining on a bull rush to the net that preceded a slick forehand-to-backhand shot.
"Sam was unbelievable," Miller concluded.
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