Rangers vs. Oilers: 3 things to watch for facing streaking Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl
Coming off, perhaps, their most important win of the season, the New York Rangers are right back at it 24 hours later when they host the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The Rangers (33-28-6) skated out of Columbus with an impressive 4-0 victory over the Blue Jackets on Saturday for their second straight win to secure a winning road trip (2-1-0). In the process, they leapfrogged the Blue Jackets and moved into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. They’re now one point up on the Montreal Canadiens and two ahead of the Blue Jackets, though both teams have a game in hand on New York.
It was a terrific defensive effort by the Rangers, who allowed only 21 shots on goal and picked up their eighth shutout of the season. This after they were hammered by the Blue Jackets 7-3 at MSG last Sunday showed excellent resiliency by the Blueshirts.
Alexis Lafreniere scored his first goal in 15 games, Vincent Trocheck scored twice and Artemi Panarin had a clutch goal that made it 2-0 midway through the second period. With Adam Fox back in the lineup after an eight-game injury absence, there was plenty of good for the Rangers on Saturday night.
Now, they must regroup quickly to face an Oilers team that’s waiting for them. The Oilers defeated the Islanders 2-1 in overtime at UBS Arena on Friday and has been in the tri-state area since Tuesday, including a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
Like the Rangers, the Oilers (38-24-4) have a lot to play for down the stretch. They are third in the Pacific Division, though just one point behind the second-place Los Angeles Kings. It hasn’t been an easy run for the Oilers after they lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers last spring. They’ve lost eight of 12 games (4-8-0) since Feb. 7 and struggled offensively, even with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl producing at their typical pace.
This is the second and final meeting in the season series. The Oilers hammered the Rangers 6-2 at Rogers Place on Nov. 23.
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways after clutch 4-0 road win against Blue Jackets
3 things to watch for when Rangers host Oilers
1. More Igor
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette wasn’t saying postgame Saturday, but there’s a chance Igor Shesterkin starts on consecutive days for only the fifth time in his NHL career. It should be noted that Shesterkin is 4-0-0 in those previous four instances, two of which came after he played a full game the day before and two when he was pulled from a contest the previous day.
This is no knock on backup Jonathan Quick, but the Rangers are in a spot where they need every possible standings point and Shesterkin is their clearcut best option at the position. He was solid again Saturday, stopping all 21 shots for his fifth shutout of the season. And it’s not like he was overworked Saturday nor this season, starting 49 of their 67 games.
Big=time game. Big-time opponent. Big time of the season. Seems like it’s the moment to ride your big-time goalie.
UPDATE 4:45 pm: Igor Shesterkin will start Sunday night against the Oilers
2. Containing Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl
You probably haven’t heard this one before, right? To defeat the Oilers, you need to contain McDavid and Draisaitl. Shocker, we know.
But it’s the truth. Even though that pair of superstar forwards continues to produce at a serious rate, the Oilers are struggling mightily to score enough goals to win games. They’ve scored two goals in three straight games and four of six. They’ve scored three or under in 10 of their past 11. Despite the star play of McDavid and Draisaitl, the Oilers have been incapable of piling up the goals.
That said, these guys are on a tear. Draisailt scored both goals, including the OT game-winner, against the Islanders and is on a 17-game point streak, tied for longest in the NHL this season. He leads the NHL with 49 goals and is second with 100 points, two behind Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche. It is the sixth 100-point season in Draisaitl’s career.
McDavid, currently with points in 10 straight games, is not exactly a slouch this season either. He’s fourth in League scoring (85 points) and third with 61 assists.
3. Vincent Trocheck getting hot with Artemi Panarin
Panarin’s been on a roll for a bit now, with an eight-game point streak (six goals, six assists). He added two more points to that total Saturday, with a goal and assist, and sits at 71 points, his fifth season with at least 70 points for the Rangers, tied with Mark Messier and Mika Zibanejad for fifth most in Rangers history.
Now his linemate is joining the party. Trocheck has three goals in the past two games, including a pair Saturday that featured a short-handed empty-netter in the third period which iced the victory. Trocheck now has 20 goals for the third straight season with the Rangers and seventh time in his NHL career. He’s second on the Rangers in goals, behind Panarin (29) and fourth in points with 45.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Trocheck – Cuylle
Lafreniere – J.T. Miller- Zibanejad
Kreider – Carrick – Berard
Othmann – Brodzinski – Rempe
Vaakanainen – Fox
K. Miller – Borgen
Jones – Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Rangers vs. Oilers: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Edmonton Oilers
When: Sunday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to watch: MSG
More About:New York Rangers News