New York Rangers Fall 2-0 To Edmonton Oilers, Henrik Lundqvist Leaves Game
The New York Rangers were unable to get the job done tonight in Edmonton, and took their first loss on the Western road trip. Henrik Lundqvist was strong in net, but the Rangers couldn't respond for the King.
The first period was very fast paced, and ended in record time. There were very few whistles and it was exciting to watch. In the second period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the Oilers on the board first, with a goal coming on an odd man rush. Prust was able to get back on the rush, but couldn't catch the speedy Oilers offense.
The Rangers had a late 5-on-3 opportunity in the second period, but it went unanswered. They had quite a few chances on the power play, but lack of movement prevented them from doing so. Marian Gaborik had a few breaks, but it wasn't enough to solve the solid play of Nikolai Khabibulin.
At the end of the second period, Kris Newbury took a very undisciplined slashing penalty, and sent the Oilers on the power play to start the third period.
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On the ensuing power play, the Oilers capitalized, coming from former Ranger
Corey Potter. Henrik Lundqvist looked screened on the play, and was unable to handle the shot. About ten minutes later, Henrik Lundqvist looked uneasy after moving side to side, and left the ice surface.I'm pretty sure that Ranger Nation stopped breathing for a short time after witnessing that. It seemed as if Lundqvist pulled something in his groin on the play, and everyone went into instant panic mode. Although, in the post-game interviews, Lundqvist stated it was a problem with his skate, which caused cramping in his foot.
Besides the Rangers losing, this was obviously a great sigh of relief. With Marc Staal, and Michael Sauer already missing from the line-up, adding Henrik Lundqvist to that list would have been devastating. As of right now, the Rangers hold a 2-1 record on their Western road trip. If they can coming out with a win against Winnipeg on Monday, they will be in good shape for the home opener.
John Tortorella started mixing up the lines a ton this game, and Artem Anisimov was even benched at one point. His shuffling clearly showed how the Rangers were playing, and they desperately needed a change.
The Rangers next game is this coming Monday, against the Winnipeg Jets, starting at 8:30 PM. Let's hope the Rangers can come out with two points!