In their second and final meeting with the New York Rangers this season, the Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers] were going with the same lineup that beat the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. It was a lineup that just two days ago looked dominant at times, exploding for five goals in the second period and shutting Utah down in the third. That same team -- one that looked like they'd finally found their mojo -- lost it against the New York Rangers on Thursday night. Consistently inconsistent. That's perhaps the best way to describe the Oilers' game and their season thus far. While they weren't overpowering, the Oilers had pretty much everything going for them in the first two periods. But in an effort that can only be described as deflating -- evident on the players' faces in the locker room after the game -- it's clear that Edmonton will have to go back to the drawing board. TRENDING STORIES: Oilers Take Advantage Of Late Gift, Power Play And Podkolzin Beat Furious Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-take-advantage-of-late-gift-power-play-and-podkolzin-beat-furious-canadiens] Oilers Lose Physical Winger For Several Weeks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-lose-physical-winger-for-several-weeks] Oilers Reset Opportunity Starts With Utah [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/game-day/oilers-reset-opportunity-starts-with-utah] The Oilers had this game in hand. But, with a power play that should have sealed it but gave up two shorthanded chances against, you could see the tide turn and the ice tilt in the Rangers' favor. The third period was an Oilers team playing not to lose, which is usually not the best recipe for success. The Rangers clawed back from 3-1 down to tie the game. The Oilers, however, had life when a late penalty call gave them a power play to end regulation and a man advantage going into overtime. Instead of putting the Rangers away, J.T. Miller wound up getting a break and went around both Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, practically uncontested, to finish off the comeback. "It should not have been that Grade A scoring chance... certainly not him driving to the net, " said head coach Kris Knoblauch. "I'm disappointed in how that was played." J.T. Miller goes around Bouchard and Draisaitl © Perry Nelson Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3495acf9-34d3-4189-b6a8-e9c6ab267316.jpeg] J.T. Miller goes around Bouchard and Draisaitl © Perry Nelson Imagn Images That play to end the game was, in many ways, a metaphor for the downs of the Oilers' season. The top guys haven't necessarily been the elite superstars everyone knows them to be. When asked about his leaders making mistakes, Knoblauch said, "You always have success when your best players are your best players. You need your depth; you need your other guys stepping up and contributing. But usually, when things are going well, your best players are the ones who are contributing, night in and night out." Knoblauch didn't just put it on his best players. "Some guys can be better —top guys, bottom guys —collectively. We feel like we take a step forward, we take two steps back. Just because we talk about something and do something well for a short period of time doesn't mean we have it solved." The inconsistency on this Oilers' roster has been, perhaps, the only consistent thing about it. "We've got to make sure this is ingrained and we're doing this all the time, and this is our identity and this is how we're going to play," Knoblauch finished with. EVAN BOUCHARD IS STRUGGLING: TIME TO SEND A MESSAGE? When asked if there would come a point where Evan Bouchard might sit, Knoblauch said, "We have to hold all of our players accountable. There's a fine line on mistakes that periodically happen... if there's an accumulation of mistakes that are costing us regularly, then yes, we need to hold everyone accountable." What this means for Bouchard as the Oilers get set for a game on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks isn't clear. What it should mean is another story altogether. Bouchard was asked directly about the number of turnovers he's giving up this season. "Yeah, it's obviously happening a little more." There was an awkwardness in the room after the loss, and Bouchard knew he was in for tough questions. He mainly provided short answers. He walked through his trying to make a play, and the puck wound up in the back of the net. "That's definitely got to get cleaned up, but playing harder is going to be something I'll have to do." He admitted that the switch on Miller came late in the overtime goal. When asked if there's something about his being able to flip a switch when the game matters, he didn't know what to say to that, but did note that by Game 11, "it's not OK." On that, he's correct, and accountability is now a must with this player. "Obviously, your confidence is up and down. I think it is for every player. I just have to find a way to balance it." A frustrated Draisaitl had a tough night, too. "The time's now to clean that up." He admitted that turnovers and self-inflicted mistakes are crippling the team. "It's nothing magical that the other teams are doing; we're beating ourselves right now." GAME RESULTS: FIRST PERIOD: Jonny Brodzinski scored first for the Rangers, picking off a pass from Evan Bouchard and going in alone on Stuart Skinner. Darnell Nurse quickly answered on a nice three-way passing play. He buried a one-timer off a pass from Jake Walman to even the game. Jack Roslovic started the play with a nice pass. Stecher took a delay of the game penalty at 17:16 of the first, putting the Oilers on the penalty kill. Edmonton killed it off, and the rest of the period ran out without additional scoring. 1-1 at the end of the first. SECOND PERIOD: The shots were 15-10 for the Rangers to start the middle frame. Edmonton looked shaky at times in the first, but also had some excellent looks. McDavid drew a penalty around the seven minute mark as Noah Laba went water skiing on McDavid's back as he was coming into the zone. Coming in with a 30% success rate, the Oilers were looking for the lead. McDavid drove to the net twice in the early going. As the power play was expiring, the Oilers worked it down low, and Henrique drove the puck to the net. With traffic in front, including Matt Savoie, the puck was pushed through and past Shesterkin. The goal was credited to Savoie, his first in the NHL. In a weird one, Nurse got a goal after the officials checked the tape to see if the puck completely crossed the line. It was stuck in Shesterkin's pads and he slid over the goal line. Upon review it was ruled the puck was on his pad and over the goal line. Darnell Nurse has two goals by the end of the second period for the Oilers. Photo by © Perry Nelson Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/924ef7ba-bf44-4de9-8203-8cd20f394483.jpeg] Darnell Nurse has two goals by the end of the second period for the Oilers. Photo by © Perry Nelson Imagn Images With the score 3-1, Ike Howard took a tripping penalty. Rangers eight shots in the second to the Oilers 14. It was a much better period for Edmonton. THIRD PERIOD: The Oilers started with possession, and Nurse drew a tripping call. During the sequence, Adam Fox took a puck to the face and left for repairs. Nurse is all over the place in this game, in a good way. The Oilers' power play, however, was not great. It gave up two shorthanded opportunities against. Braden Schnieder cut the lead to one as he scored on a rebound drive. The Rangers then tied it up with 7:56 left as Taylor Raddysh scored on a shot that beat Skinner. Roslovic had another good look on a two-on-one with Draisaitl, but couldn't get a good shot off on the finish. OVERTIME The Oilers had a power play in overtime, but couldn't score to put the Rangers away. J.T. Miller wound up getting a break and went around the Oilers to finish it off. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/e5e63ea5-b506-43d6-84e2-4f8f43eeb7c1.jpeg] Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/] team site to never miss the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/game-day] coverage, and more [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/players]. Add us to your Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwn-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] favourites, and never miss a story.
