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Rangers vs. Oilers: Sweeping the Tank?

The Rangers ended their three-game road trip with yet another one-goal win, leaving fans of the tank bereft, and the rest of us tired, weirdly elated, and vaguely confused.

While the McDavids Oilers came out hard, it was the Rangers who scored first, just 54 seconds in. Chris Kreider has had some stunning chances since his return, but there was no stopping this beauty off a filthy feed from Mika Zibanejad.

The Rangers continued to dominate, with only occasional threats from the McDavid line. The young D had a good night, with Tony DeAngelo and John Gilmour making strong contributions (including another gorgeous stretch pass from D’Angelo, and Neal Pionk having probably his best game as a Ranger thus far); on the other hand, Ryan Spooner had his first game without a point for New York. The second NYR tally was a power play goal by Zibanejad from a baffling angle; the third seemed to come from Cody McLeod, who had a surprisingly good night, but it was actually tipped in by Paul Carey.

In net, Alexandar Georgiev had his first NHL win, making 35 saves on 37 shots. Some were incredible, but McJesus tucked a soft one between his right arm and the post early in the second:

But the second goal was sheer McJesus nonsense. That pass to Nugent-Hopkins?  I mean, come on.

The Blueshirts turtled in the third as the Oilers shelled Georgiev with 15 shots. A late penalty from Marc Staal on McDavid kept it tense until Edmonton forgot how to count to potato and got called for too many men. The game ended with NYR with the man advantage, and the trip ended with the “tanking” team around 3 points out of a wild card spot because ... well, because Rangers.

The Rangers take on Winnipeg Tuesday night at MSG, and we hear the USWNT will be in attendance! Will the streak continue, or will the actual tank begin?

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