EDMONTON, Alberta — The Rangers refuse to decelerate.
Friday night at Rogers Place, Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere scored in the skills competition to give the Rangers a 5-4 victory over the Oilers. They rallied for their sixth consecutive victory by scoring three unanswered goals in the second and third quarters after falling into a huge hole in the first 20 minutes.
After the Oilers overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Rangers 4-3 at Madison Square Garden in November, the Rangers accomplished virtually the same thing to Edmonton in their own arena.
On his 25th birthday, Adam Fox assisted on Chris Kreider’s 4-2 goal in the second period and Mika Zibanejad’s game-tying power-play goal in the third. “I think we owed them a little bit,” Fox said. “You are never happy when you blow a lead. It was wonderful to exact a little bit of revenge from our last meeting with them.”
Six minutes into the second period, with the Rangers behind by three goals and Lafreniere having been punished for holding Zach Hyman, the Rangers were on the penalty kill.
After a demoralizing first period, the Rangers were still pressing when Adam Fox created a shorthanded opportunity for Chris Kreider. At 6:26 of the second period, Kreider scored his second goal of the game. His initial pass, meant for Mika Zibanejad, was stopped, but the puck rebounded right back to him.
Lafreniere, who has played some of his best hockey over the past 10 games, scored from the right faceoff circle on a pass from Kakko at approximately 1:40 of the third period to cut the Oilers’ lead to one.
The Rangers maintained their composure, even when they were awarded a 5-on-3 power play later in the period. With 6:50 remaining in regulation, Zibanejad scored to tie the game at 4-4, and the Rangers ultimately forced OT.
In the first period, Igor Shesterkin’s recent problems in goal continued, but he rebounded in the second and led the Rangers to two points. The remainder of the team’s play in front of him did not help the goaltender, but a few delayed reflexes cost the Rangers the game. Shesterkin, who allowed four goals on 12 shots in the first period, finished with 25 stops on 29 shots, including crucial stops in the shootout.
In each of his last five contests, Shesterkin has allowed at least three goals. The 27-year-old goaltender has allowed 17 goals on 147 shots.
Head coach Gerard Gallant and goaltending coach Benoit Allaire were in a difficult position while considering whether or not to bench Shesterkin in favor of Jaroslav Halak, who has been performing well of late and is 7-0 in his last seven starts. Taking into account so many aspects, such as the competition, Shesterkin’s confidence, and what was best for the club, it was impossible to make a decision given that the Rangers had another game in Calgary on Saturday night.
The Oilers, who were forced to dress 17 players owing to Klim Kostin’s illness and a lack of extras due to salary cap restrictions, appeared to have a chip on their shoulders after losing their previous two games to the weak Canadiens and Red Wings.
Vincent Trocheck’s ill-advised interfering penalty, in which he slapped Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell’s stick away, sparked a rapid decline for the Rangers in the first period.
During that power play, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a goal, and Connor McDavid earned his 100th point of the season with an assist.
The Rangers’ fourth line and third defense pair were caught pursuing the puck shortly thereafter. At 12:11, with the Oilers peppering Shesterkin with shots, Tyson Barrie buried a juicy rebound to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Derek Ryan scored against Shesterkin from the right faceoff circle 19 seconds later.
The Rangers ultimately scored on the power play at 13:36, when Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider combined to set up Kreider’s first man-advantage goal since November 13. Nevertheless, K’Andre Miller’s delay of game penalty for deflecting the puck out of play placed the Rangers back on the penalty kill.
The first-period assault continued from that point forward. McDavid sent the puck from beyond the Rangers’ net to Leon Draisaitl, who one-timed it into the top corner for a 4-1 lead.
»Rangers overcome three-goal deficit to win shootout over Oilers«
↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯