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 The Rangers (42-30-4) scored one goal in the first period, three in
the second and another in the third. They scored twice while
short-handed and held the hosts to just three shots in the first
period.
"On some nights you need some bounces, and we got a couple tonight,"
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Our penalty-killing gave us two
big goals tonight, which was good to see. We hadn't played as well
as we would have liked defensively in (a 4-3 loss) to Calgary on
Friday. We were better tonight."
The Oilers (26-40-9) were worse. They were booed off their own ice
after being shut out for the ninth time this season. They pulled out
an overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday despite being
terribly outshot, but they didn't come close to an upset this time.
They were down 4-0 after 33 minutes.
"We just have to get better," said Edmonton dejected center Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins. "All season we've been saying the same thing, 'It's
there, it's just being able to find it every night.'
"Short-handed goals are always tough to give up, and we've given up
too many of them this year. The power play is supposed to be doing
the opposite, we're supposed to get momentum. And you can't win
games without scoring goals, that's the bottom line."
The Rangers, on the second game of a four-game Western road swing,
hope to get another roll going after seeing a five-game winning
streak end two days earlier in Calgary. They are dueling with the
division-rival Philadelphia Flyers for home-ice advantage in the
first round of the playoffs, so the points were crucial. New York
holds a two-point edge.
"We have kind of a mini-playoffs right now just to get in," said
Rangers left winger Rick Nash. "We are looking at every game as a
much-win right now. You look at the teams that have success in the
playoffs, and it is usually ones that are playing well going in.
"It was a huge bounce-back. Our defensive play in Calgary wasn't
good, and we left (Henrik Lundqvist) out to dry in net. This game
was totally different. We played tight around our net."
The Oilers were lucky to escape with a 1-0 deficit after one period.
Edmonton goalie Ben Scrivens stopped Nash on a breakaway, and the
Rangers had a goal disallowed in the first frame before center Mats
Zuccarello's deflection made it 1-0 at 16:30.
Edmonton spent the second period on its heels, as well. The Oilers
did not get their 10th shot of the game until the 30-minute mark,
and they fell behind 4-0 on goals from center Derick Brassard at
4:38 on the power play, Nash at even strength at 9:07 and Nash
again, with a short-handed goal at 13:26.
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Zuccarello added another short-handed goal in the third period, the
league-leading 13th the Oilers allowed this season.
"You can run all different kind of setups. Those guys (on Edmonton's
power-play unit) are out there for a reason, they're able to see one
play ahead," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said. "They have the skill
set and the hands and the heads to do it. Those guys should be able
to do the job."
Goalie Cam Talbot had a pretty easy 26-save shutout for the Rangers.
"He brings saves," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "He is calm
and he doesn't allow a lot of rebounds, he swallows those up or
controls it. He is nice and calm. He has been solid back there, and
he had another good one tonight."
NOTES: Oilers G Viktor Fasth, who was out of commission since being
run over in practice last week, backed up Ben Scrivens on Sunday.
Fasth's return to health meant that G Laurent Brossoit was
re-assigned to the AHL. ... Oilers LW Ryan Jones is out for the
season with a knee injury after colliding with an Anaheim player
Friday night. ... The experiment of playing Rangers stars LW Rick
Nash and RW Martin St. Louis on the same line lasted two games.
Coach Alain Vigneault split them up in Edmonton. The Rangers were
trying to find the right spot for St. Louis, who is in a miserable
slump since joining the Rangers at the trade deadline. ... Oilers D
Andrew Ference is out with a torn pectoral muscle. He is being
listed as week-to-week. ... The Rangers won for the 22nd time in
their past 30 road games.
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