Jonny Lazarus and Matt Mugno share their thoughts on the New York Rangers 4-3 loss last night at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers.
The New York Rangers (22-8-1) had a little lapse in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers (15-15-1) which evidently cost them the game.
Jonny Lazarus: First off, have to give credit to Jonathan Quick. I don't think he is to blame for that third-period lapse. The team got sloppy in front of him. It's just a shame because, for the first two periods, it felt like that was a game that Quick could have stolen. In my opinion, what killed the Rangers last night were those two penalties in the back half of the second period. Edmonton was getting many looks at 5-on-5, but these two power play attempts allowed Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to feel the puck more and settle themselves back into the game. That said, the penalty killers effort was phenomenal, but those calls got Edmonton's offensive game going.
Matthew Mugno: I'll go one further Jonny. A lesson that any Stanley Cup contender will learn is finishing grade-A opportunities. Mika Zibanejad had a wide-open back door powerplay chance to go up 2-0 in the second period and didn't get all of the shots. Minutes later the Rangers collapsed in their own zone, Jonathan Quick putting on a show to bail the team out. It harkens back to Game 3 against New Jersey, and Game 3 against Tampa in 2022.
JL: He may not have found the scoresheet, but based on the eye test I thought Vincent Trocheck was by far the Ranger's best player last night. He was excellent defensively.
MM: Maybe not the scoresheet but "Trochocinco" found the stat sheet. He went 8/14 in the red dot and was defensively sound, logging a team-leading 23:47 of ice time. A 2C playing like a 1B.
JL: In the postgame, Peter Laviolette said his team had no juice, "I thought we were missing energy the entire game", he said. Personally, I thought the Rangers start to the game was strong and that they had done a good job staying on the defensive side of the puck. McDavid actually seemed very frustrated through two periods because he wasn't able to generate many chances. To me, this was more of a credit to the Oilers for waking up in the third period as opposed to the Rangers handing them the game.
MM: The Oilers were 1-8-0 coming into the game after trailing in the first period. On October 26th, McDavid did not skate for the Oilers, they were 1-5 to start the year. The same team was also 7-3-0 coming into the contest last night. The Oilers are a hungry team, trying to reclaim their season after going 2-5-0 in October and 7-7 in November.
JL: The good news about that Oilers game is that the team has to put it behind them right away. Tonight they have another chance at a bounce-back performance against a team that they need to get their revenge on. The Buffalo Sabres came into Madison Square Garden a few weeks ago and won 5-1 against Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers. This needs to be a statement game before the four-day Christmas break. There's no time to dwell on the loss to the Oilers.
MM: The Rangers will have to play in another bounce-back-to-back game. When do these back-to-back games end? Makes for an odd schedule.
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