Rangers Recap: Power Play Struggles Continue as Rangers Lose to Oilers, 3-1

If it feels like it wasn't so long ago that the New York Rangers were forced into a grueling afternoon trying to shut down Connor McDavid, that's because it wasn't. The two teams last met just eight days ago, when the Oilers won handily, 4-1. Tonight marks the second of two games the teams will play, and this time the Rangers are at Rogers Arena in Alberta, Canada.

The lineup looks similar to their previous matches. Alberts Smits has been ruled out for a few weeks, and with Sean Durzi still not ready to return, Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow will continue to play. After Korpisalo's season debut against the Seattle Kraken was largely successful, some wondered whether head coach Mike Sullivan would once again lean on Korpisalo, but Dylan Garand got the nod to lead the Rangers into tonight's game as the Blueshirts try to seize their last chance to stop the Oilers' highlight-reel machine this season.

First Period

The Rangers didn't start off looking so bad. They moved the puck well, and Mika Zibanejad even tried a fancy in-between-the-legs move right in front of the Oilers' net. Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, their momentum stalled early enough that, if we were to extend this metaphor, they never even finished the opening lap behind the pace car.

Dylan Garand, failing at his best Igor Shesterkin impression, misplayed the puck behind the net, and it bounced to the worst possible person on the planet, Connor McDavid. McDavid, right by the crease, skated it into the empty net. For the easiest and only non-highlight-reel goal I've ever seen him score against the Rangers.

The Oilers kept pressing, and one of the major reasons the Rangers survived the storm was Dylan Garand. Motivated to make up for his major gaffe, he stood tall and made snazzy glove saves left and right. As the period went on, the Rangers found some life, ironically while shorthanded.

As the penalty wound down, Noah Laba and Will Cuylle couldn't connect on a two-on-one, but the Rangers were relentless. The penalty expired, and Marcus Pettersson came out of the box. He skated into the offensive zone, and disrupted the Oilers, creating a broken play. Tye Kartye got the puck and dangled Devon Levi, but Pettersson fell to the side of the net as he tried to whack at the careening puck. Kartye had another big chance when he broke into the Oilers' zone again, but he couldn't beat Levi.

With less than ten seconds left in the period, the Rangers were awarded their first power play of the game. Ty Emberson interfered with Jaroslav Chmelar in the corner, cross-checking him as he skated away from the puck. The Rangers had one face-off opportunity to try to tie the game, but despite a clean win by J.T. Miller and Adam Fox's shot getting through, they came up short. The Rangers went into the intermission down a goal but would start the middle period with the man advantage.

Second Period

The Rangers' second power-play unit started the period and nearly tied the game. In what must have been a set play, they were one minor mistake away from executing it flawlessly. The team cycled the puck around and passed it to Cuylle down low, who put it into the slot, but it wasn't perfectly on the tape, and Kartye bobbled it, giving Levi enough time to set himself and make the tough stop on the attempt from the slot. The rest of their power play didn't do much, even when Mathieu Joseph lost his skate blade.

Shortly after this, the Oilers had the puck in the Rangers' zone, and the Blueshirts seemed especially flat-footed. They watched the Oilers use the perimeter of the zone, and as the blue jerseys bunched in the middle, Edmonton moved the puck around with precision and eventually cut it toward the center of the ice. Vasily Podkolzin made a soft touch to Leon Draisaitl, who flung the puck at the net and beat Garand. The Rangers challenged the goal, saying Connor McDavid had interfered with Dylan Garand, but after a quick review, it was deemed a good goal. The camera panned to Sullivan on the bench, who looked furious at the call, but you be the judge.

As the Rangers tried to kill the penalty they were assessed for a failed coach's challenge, Braden Schneider tried to clear the puck out of their zone, but it sailed over the glass, and he went to the box. Now down two goals and forced to kill off a 5-on-3, things felt dire. Garand stood tall, and the Rangers' penalty kill kept the Oilers to the outside. Zibanejad, ever mindful of the game clock, anticipated Jaroslav Chmelar coming out of the box. He passed the puck up the middle, and Chmelar broke in against Devon Levi alone. He stickhandled back and forth and lifted the puck right above Levi's glove hand for a shorthanded goal that cut the lead in half.

The Rangers killed off the remaining penalty and kept finding ways to stay in the game. J.T. Miller stepped up, blocked a shot from the blueline, and beat Oilers defenseman Ryan Shea to the puck. He cut into the Oilers zone, sensed pressure from behind, and made a perfect saucer pass to Tye Kartye, who skated across the crease but couldn't outwait Levi, who made a beautiful skate save.

The Rangers got two power-play opportunities as the period wound down. They were unable to do anything with either of them, but the second one was a controversial call. Noah Laba was sprung by a lead pass and was off to the races, beating Evan Bouchard to the puck for a breakaway. For what it's worth, Bouchard made an excellent defensive play by diving and knocking the puck away from Laba before tripping him. It was clear the Rangers wanted a penalty shot, but the referee ruled it as a penalty.

As the period ended, the two teams were growing weary of each other. It began on the power play, when the Rangers poked at Levi and rubbed the Oilers the wrong way. It escalated shortly after when Connor Murphy shouldered Tye Kartye to the ice after Kartye skated past the puck as the whistle blew. The players quickly gathered and exchanged gloved punches, and officials handed both Murphy and Miller roughing penalties. Connor McDavid, taking advantage of the extra ice, had a chance to increase the Oilers' lead, but the score remained the same heading into the third.

Third Period

The final period began as the second ended, with both teams skating four-on-four. The Rangers were the livelier team from the jump, getting a decent amount of offensive zone time in the opening minutes. However, it wasn't just their offense pushing the game forward; for much of the game, the Rangers looked defensively sound, with their lines cycling and covering for defensemen when they activated, often starting with good first passes. They were down a goal, but when this happened, it felt good to watch.

The Rangers got their fourth power-play opportunity when Kasperi Kapanen hooked Pavel Dorofeyev. After struggling to enter and set up in the Oilers' zone on previous power-play opportunities, the Rangers did better on this one. After Garand made a save on a dangerous shorthanded opportunity, they were able to skate it into the zone and get several good looks. Kartye missed the net on a quick passing play that had him turn and rip a one-timer from the slot.

Even after the power play expired, the Rangers would get a few decent scoring chances. Bjorkstrand shot the puck over the net when he was all alone in front, and Zibanejad set up Perreault, who tried to deke past Levi but couldn't pull it off. The Rangers continued to dominate much of the final period, but the team struggled to break through the Oilers' defense as players collapsed in front of Levi and blocked shots.

With a couple of minutes left in the period, the Rangers pulled Garand for the extra attacker, and the team's top five forwards, with Adam Fox, tried to tie the game. The Oilers iced the puck twice, and then took a tripping penalty, giving the Rangers one last lifeline.

The Rangers set up and attempted to deflect a puck toward the net, but Draisaitl got to it and sent it the length of the ice for an empty-net goal. The Rangers, clearly frustrated and now down two, pulled Garand again. They got another big opportunity, but Miller whiffed on the puck.

With less than thirty seconds left, the officials blew the play dead. Miller and Ekholm got into it in front of the net. Ekholm blatantly cross-checked Miller to the ice, and Miller returned the favor by slashing Ekholm. The teams converged again, throwing gloved punches at each other, and the officials handed out misconducts like candy. The Oilers once again came out on top, winning this one 3-1.