Recap: JT Miller Scores in Overtime, As Rangers Come From Behind to Beat Oilers 4-3

Tonight, the New York Rangers are playing their only game of the season at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. Earlier in the season, when we saw them square off against the Edmonton Oilers in New York, the Rangers put up a solid effort but lost 2-0, getting shutout by none other than Stuart Skinner. In that game, the Rangers didn't take a single penalty, which is something they should hope to replicate tonight, given all the weapons Edmonton has on its power play.

In a cruel twist of fate, the Oilers honored Adam Henrique for his 1000th game in the NHL tonight. Although Henrique was shipped off to the West Coast years ago, many will remember him for the playoff dagger he drove into the hearts of many Rangers fans when he scored the series-winning goal for the Devils in the 2012 Eastern Conference Final. Whether the Oilers' event coordinator was being cheeky by choosing to celebrate this against the Rangers remains to be seen.

The Rangers are icing the same lineup against the Oilers as they did against the Vancouver Canucks, except this game will feature Shesterkin in net. This is fine and makes sense, seeing how they won in Vancouver, but Matthew Robertson sitting out consecutive games makes one think he may have lost some of the goodwill he had with Sullivan. As for Brennan Othmann, it's hoped he'll get another shot, but the game he played in Calgary doesn't immediately warrant a second chance if the team is winning without him.

1st Period

Just a minute into the game, Zibanejad passed the puck to Panarin, who skated into the Oilers' zone. He delivered a perfect pass to Carson Soucy, who, surprisingly, put his head down and charged toward the net, running into Skinner and the Oilers' defenseman. No one was hurt, but the Blueshirts are skating aggressively to start the game.

A couple of minutes later, JT Miller went to take a faceoff to the left of Skinner, but was removed from the faceoff circle. Lafrenière stepped in and won the faceoff. This was his fifth time at the dot in the season and officially his first faceoff win. However, the Rangers unfortunately bobbled his faceoff victory and were quickly pressured out of the zone.

Noah Laba, without a face mask tonight, was quickly getting involved and pressuring the Oilers all over the ice and causing turnovers. He caught Draisaitl skating through the neutral zone and bumped him off the puck. Draisaitl recovered and maintained possession, but the Oilers' breakout and momentum were momentarily disrupted.

Brodzinski deflected a bad pass from Bouchard at the blue line and chased down the puck in the neutral zone for a breakaway. Skating alone in on Skinner, he made a small deke to the left and lifted the puck over Skinner's blocker to give the Rangers the first lead of the game.

Right after this goal, the Rangers won the faceoff and were in the offensive zone. JT Miller hit Lafrenière with a perfect pass in the top of the slot. Lafrenière snapped it with enough power that he had to go down on one knee, but it failed to squeak through Skinner, who covered the puck.

Shortly after this, JT Miller couldn't settle a bouncing puck as it careened around the crease, and Edmonton gained control of the puck. The Oilers brought the puck into the Rangers' zone and cycled it around. Nurse caught a pass from Walman near the top of the circle and sent it right past a slightly out-of-position Shesterkin to tie the game, and in true Rangers' fashion, former Ranger Jack Roslovic would be credited with an assist.

After this goal, the momentum shifted slightly, and the Oilers maintained possession in the Rangers' zone for consecutive shifts. A bad turnover by Soucy led to a prime scoring opportunity that Shesterkin had to turn away.

Late in the first, Troy Stecher put the puck over the glass in the Oilers' end. He'd go to the box for delay of game, and the Rangers would have the first power play of the night. The Rangers' first power play unit was on the ice for almost the full two minutes. They had some great looks, especially in the second minute. Lafrenière had a prime scoring chance himself and set up another for Miller, who missed deflecting the puck into the wide-open net. The Oilers also had an excellent chance as Draisaitl and McDavid teamed up for a scary opportunity that Shesterkin had to kick away. McDavid also tried to pull a fast one on Adam Fox and bat the puck along the boards and skate around him, but Fox read the play and easily defended it. The power play ended, and shortly after, so did the period. The teams would return to the locker room tied 1-1.

2nd Period

The Oilers started the second period looking more composed. Yet Artemi Panarin made an excellent play to knock the puck down out of the air in the Oilers' zone, only to have it then taken away by Darnell Nurse right away. As the Oilers were having their way with the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin decided to take matters into his own hands and went to play the puck. He launched it through the slot looking for a long pass, but Connor McDavid blocked it, and by some miracle, Shesterkin was able to recover and keep the puck out of the net.

The Lafrenière-Miller-Sheary line continued to get good looks in the second period. Lafrenière deftly skated through the neutral zone with the puck and slid it over to Sheary, who had a wide-open lane toward the net. He walked in on Skinner but was turned away with ease, either missing the net or Skinner getting a small piece of it.

Laba continued to disrupt the Oilers all over the ice, even getting a good chance as he skated the puck in on Skinner. In the same shift, Laba would be called for holding as he tied up Connor McDavid, and the Oilers would get their first power play of the game and season against the Rangers.

The Rangers had both good defense and luck on their side during the first half of their penalty kill. Edmonton moved the puck around well, but several chances were disrupted by an active stick from a defenseman or even Shesterkin. However, the Rangers failed to capitalize on possession and couldn't clear the puck, leading to extended time in their own end. At first, Shesterkin was able to bail them out of this situation, but that only lasted for so long as the Oilers ended up capitalizing on their power play. Henrique caught a pass by the side of the net and cut in front of the net. He threw it at the net, and it went off Matt Savoie's skate for his first career NHL goal.

A minute and change later, Edmonton rushed into the Rangers' zone. Isaac Howard sent a hard pass toward Nurse on the side of the net, and he deflected it into Shesterkin. After an extended review, the referees ruled that Nurse's play was a goal. It was hard to see at first, but from a different angle, the puck could be seen on Shesterkin's left pad as he slid back into the net. The Oilers extended their lead to 3-1.

Despite falling further behind in the game, the Rangers' forwards were still skating hard. Panarin dangled into the slot and put a shot on net. He got a big rebound and put another on net that Skinner was able to turn away. Panarin's bad luck continues, and he is well aware of it. The camera panned to him, defeatedly shaking his head on the bench right after his two shots. After the whistle, Laba crashed the net hard and poked at Skinner. He was awarded with a few fists in the face, but didn't back down from the Oilers, who quickly crowded him.

The following shift, Isaac Howard tripped Juuso Parssinen, and the Rangers would get a much-needed power play. The Rangers' first unit cycled the puck well, as they consistently have, but it never quite led to a dangerous opportunity. It's clear they're missing Kreider's presence on the power play and have yet to find a new identity or scoring methods since moving on from him. The Oilers killed off the penalty and arguably had the best chance while shorthanded. With three men crashing the Rangers' zone, Ekholm teed up and had a shot on net that Shesterkin lost track of, a rebound trickled off of him, and Edmonton barely missed out on pouncing on the puck.

As the period wound down, the Rangers were looking more and more out of sorts. They had offensive chances but were missing each other on cross-ice passes, ruining their own scoring chances. In the final shift of the period, the Rangers ended up with some good looks. With the charge being primarily led by Carson Soucy. He was skating well with the puck and making some nifty moves, and sent one pass in particular to Zibanejad through several defenders.In terms of the eye test, Soucy was definitely hustling most of the night.

3rd Period

Right at the start of the third period, Adam Fox was assessed a penalty for tripping Darnell Nurse. The play was an odd one, with Fox diving, Nurse skating into him, and falling. Nonetheless, the Oilers were given the man advantage. The Oilers struggled to get their power play going, which led to several excellent chances for the Blueshirts. Cuylle stole the puck and dished it off to Zibanejad as they broke into the Oilers zone on a two-on-one. Zibanejad went to pass the puck back but missed Cuylle on an imperfect saucer pass. Seconds later, after the play came back into the neutral zone, Raddysh and Miller got another odd-man rush. Raddysh tried to outwait the Oilers defenseman, but the pass was blocked, and the puck never made it to Miller. However, the Rangers' pressure continued as they gained possession of the puck yet again. Zibanejad hit the post, and Lafrenière got a shot off that Skinner was able to stick away as the Rangers' penalty expired.

Braden Schneider was having a couple of significant moments in the third period. One rush saw him skate through multiple players into the offensive zone, creating a good chance for the Rangers. Just a bit later, Will Cuylle made an excellent play, skating around an Oiler in the neutral zone. He cut toward the net but lost the puck. Schneider, sensing blood in the water, activated and beat Skinner to bring the Rangers within one goal.

The Rangers, trying to get something going, were throwing everything at the net. Gavrikov struggled to get a puck through, and Roslovic broke out of the zone with Draisaitl. He got the puck over to Draisaitl, who wasted no time sending it on net, but a sprawling Igor made an excellent save to keep the Rangers within one. Just after this, Conor Sheary made a great play at the blue line and knocked down a puck from Bouchard. He slid it over to Taylor Raddysh, who was breaking in on Skinner. He didn't pass this time and shot the puck past the Edmonton goalie to tie the game. This is his team-leading fifth goal of the season for Taylor Raddysh.

The teams traded scoring chances as the period counted down, but with just under a minute left in the game. Zibanejad got his stick up on Roslovic and was called for high-sticking. It was only a two-minute minor, but Roslovic was clearly bleeding, so we can count our blessings here, I suppose. Regardless, the Oilers were given a great gift and almost stole the game back if not for some Rangers' heroics. As the seconds ticked down, Sam Carrick stepped up to Connor McDavid, and he was able to strip the puck and clear it. The impact of Carrick as a depth player on this team cannot be overstated. The game was now heading to overtime.

Overtime

The Oilers had just over a minute of their power play left as the overtime period began. Edmonton wasted no time in cycling the puck dangerously. They were able to clear the puck twice after a block by Borgen and pristine goaltending by Shesterkin. McDavid had several looks as he dangled around the front of the net, but the Rangers successfully killed the penalty, and the game went back to three-on-three.

As the Rangers tried to collect themselves, Panarin had some questionable decision-making. He gave the puck away early in his shift and then didn't skate hard when a breakaway lane opened up for him, much to Dave Maloney's chagrin. As the Rangers changed, Fox sent the puck back to Shesterkin. Eventually, JT Miller got the puck in the Rangers' end and skated through the neutral zone. He weaved through Draisaitl and Bouchard and broke in on Skinner. He shifted the puck to his forehand and shot it past Skinner for the Rangers' first overtime win of the season. This was an overall gutsy effort by the New York Rangers. Coming from behind and never giving up, they found a way to steal a game they were not favored to win. More of this, please.