Both teams had lineup problems coming in. Colton Dach was ruled out with an illness on the day of the game, which thinned out a forward group already missing Isaac Howard, Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was day-to-day after taking a puck to the head against Vancouver. The Rangers had no Igor Shesterkin and a 2-man goalie rotation of Dylan Garand and the just-activated Joonas Korpisalo. Edmonton closed as the moneyline favorite at home, and the result didn't argue with that.
The scoring was simple. Edmonton went up 1-0 in the 1st. Each team scored once in the 2nd, so it stayed a 1-goal game going into the 3rd, which was the closest New York got. The Oilers added 1 more in the 3rd and the Rangers had no answer. Over 2 games in 9 days, Edmonton has outscored New York 7-2.
The rest edge that favored New York never showed up on the scoreboard. The Rangers had Sunday off after Seattle while Edmonton played Saturday against Vancouver, and the team with the fresher legs still managed 1 goal. The Seattle game showed an offense that could put up 3 in a period. In Edmonton it got 1 in 60 minutes. Adam Fox came in leading the team with 21 points, and a 1-goal night says the Oilers kept New York's attack quiet.
For Edmonton, this is 2 straight wins after the 2 one-goal losses to New Jersey and Anaheim, where it gave up 4 or more both times. The Oilers have now allowed 2 and then 1 in their last 2 games. The defense the preview called a question looks a lot tighter than it did a week ago. That's with Frederik Andersen still out until maybe December and the middle of the lineup still missing bodies.
For the Rangers, Rogers Place was stop 2 of a 4-game western trip, and the problem hasn't changed. This team can score, but not reliably enough to cover for a crease without Shesterkin, and in Edmonton it couldn't score at all. Edmonton moves to 13-3-3, and New York has 2 more road games to rebuild the streak it brought into this building.
