The New York Rangers have had their fair share of up and down moments of the 2019-20 season thus far, but nothing can compare to Tuesday night’s game in Edmonton. The team is currently on their western Canada road trip. Last night they fell to the Oilers 7-5, after having a rough two periods.
Alexandar Georgiev got the start in goal for the Blueshirts on Tuesday night due to coach David Quinn being pleased with the way his goalie performed against Toronto just a few days before. Unfortunately, Quinn would later regret that decision as the Oilers beat up on young Georgiev. The Oilers ending up scoring three goals on the first six shots on the game including James Neal netting one just eleven seconds into play.
The Rangers struggled even more in the second period, with Edmonton scoring yet another three goals. Forward Chris Kreider eventually broke the shutout late with a short-handed goal at the end of the second period to make it 6-1. Could the Blueshirts wake up and possibly come back?
Well, whatever David Quinn said to his team at second intermission must have worked. Once the third period began, Henrik Lundqvist replaced Georgiev in net. The Rangers responded and came out flying in the third period. They began putting more pucks on goal. Four found their way to the back of the net with Ryan Strome, Marc Staal, Artemi Panarin, and Mika Zibanejad all scoring. The Oilers 6-1 lead was now 6-5 with over three minutes left. Unfortunately, once Henrik was pulled, Kailer Yamamoto sealed the 7-5 win for Edmonton with his first goal of the season.
Following the game, it was made note that forward Chris Kreider was benched for the majority of the third period by Quinn. He was visibly distraught in his post-game comments, saying, “They score three goals on the first six shots. They’re getting pucks and bodies to the net. They kinda punched us in the face in that first period. Best power play in the league. We have to stay out of the box.”
The New York Rangers continue their Canada trip with a visit to Calgary to face off against Elias Lindholm and the Flames on Thursday night. Let’s see if the team can start 2020 off with a win!
