GAME RECAP: Oilers 2, Rangers 0

NEW YORK, NY – Start spreading the STUUUUUUUUUUUs.

We're leaving Broadway with two points and the shutout.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner had a terrific performance with 30 saves, backstopping the Oilers to a 2-0 shutout victory over the New York Rangers and their second consecutive win to begin their five-game road trip on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

"It's always really big," Skinner said. "I think it's really good just for our morale in general, being able to fight one off, being able to battle grind and win a game the hard way. I think that was a man's game out there, and with the way that the guys played, they deserved to get the two points tonight."

Skinner made nine of those saves while shorthanded as Edmonton's penalty kill went a perfect 3-for-3, including a five-on-three midway through the second period that came after forward Trent Frederic opened the scoring with his first career regular-season goal for the Oilers that proved to be the game-winner.

"Stu was our best killer," defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "He made some big saves for us, first and foremost. We were in lanes and not giving up clean looks. When they had a look, you were getting sticks or legs on it, so it was good for our kill and gotta keep building on that."

With under five minutes left in the third period, Skinner made an unbelievable glove save on former Oilers forward Sam Carrick – one of the 26-year-old's best saves of his career – sliding across to deny his former teammate before Adam Henrique capped off the win with an empty-netter with 1:08 left in regulation.

The Oilers will continue their road trip on Thursday night on Long Island against the New York Islanders.

SKINNER FINDS HIS RHYTHM

For Skinner, the start of a sensational night on Broadway began at the pre-game skate at Madison Square Garden, where the energy was high from everyone on the ice, and it translated directly into the evening in all of their effort levels.

"I feel like we just had a really good rhythm to the practice," Skinner said. "I don't think there were any stops to it. I think we were making really good tape-to-tape passes, and we were just kind of feeling it. I think sometimes, it's a little bit of an unspoken thing."

That had Skinner feeling it immediately from puck drop, and he proved it early over a stellar opening frame that saw him come up clutch for his teammates with a trio of valuable stops in the opening half of the first period.

"I think I was feeling the same thing as everybody else," he said. "I think we all felt good in the morning. I felt good, and then you just carry that on and you continue with that. Being able to make a couple of good saves at the beginning always helps for feeling good and finding that rhythm."

Skinner made six saves for the Oilers in a scoreless opening frame at Madison Square Garden, and half of those stops came off giveaways made by his own defencemen that required the crease guard to stand tall and react quickly to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard early in this one.

Skinner slid across and took away Artemi Panarin's open look from inside the left circle after Troy Stecher, who was playing in his first game of the season in place of the injured Alec Regula, mishandled a puck in his own end that led to the Rangers receiving their first real scoring opportunity.

A few minutes later, Skinner was taken out in his own crease by former Oilers centre Sam Carrick when the puck was coughed up again in the defensive zone, leading to a charge through the crease and the netminder getting enough of him and the puck to make the save before getting run over.

Skinner made another big save at 9:40 of the frame, comfortably turning aside a high-danger opportunity for winger Will Cuylle in the slot when Evan Bouchard lost the puck behind his own goal before it was centred in front to set up Cuylle's wide-open look that he couldn't bury.

"I thought he moved really well," Knoblauch said. "There were definitely a lot of scoring chances against us, more than we would like to give up, but he played a really strong game and made some not-so-easy saves. There were a lot of east-west lateral plays where he had to be quick, and I thought he moved really well, which allowed him to make those saves."

At the other end, Igor Shesterkin wasn't keen to be undone when Bouchard made a ridiculous toe drag at the top of the circle on Conor Sheary, but the blueliner was denied emphatically by the glove of the Rangers netminder to keep things scoreless through 20 minutes.

FREDDY GOES FIVE-HOLE

Freddy with the finish.

Forward Trent Frederic found an opening through the middle and flashed his speed and finish to beat defenceman Urho Vaakanainen before going five-hole on Shesterkin, finally opening the scoring at Madison Square Garden past the midway mark of the contest in favour of the Oilers.

The Oilers were fortunate when an attempted dump-in from the Rangers struck the linesman at the blueline to leave it for Kasperi Kapanen, who quickly moved it into the middle of the ice where Frederic was turning to the inside and opening up for a pass from his linemate.

After receiving the puck at centre ice, Frederic showed a confident stride in gaining separation from Vaakanainen before coming in alone on a breakaway to slide the opening marker five-hole on Shesterkin at 9:38 of the second period.

Frederic notched his first career regular-season goal for the Oilers after scoring once in last year's run to the Stanley Cup Final and signing an eight-year contract extension with the club in late June. The 27-year-old missed all but one game after being acquired by the Oilers at last season's trade deadline, and this was his first regular-season goal since Feb. 4 against the Minnesota Wild as a member of the Boston Bruins.

Kapanen picked up the lone assist and now has points in each of his last two games played.

Just 11 seconds after taking the lead, the Oilers were forced to their first penalty kill when Stecher held the stick of Jacob Brodzinski – a penalty kill that became a short five-on-three near the end of the infraction after Leon Draisaitl got out on the ice and was called for high-sticking Braden Schneider.

The Oilers stood their ground with four total saves from Skinner on the penalty kill, along with a pair of important blocks from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique that either allowed them to clear the zone or sent the puck out of play for a crucial whistle.

"I think the biggest part was massive blocks at big times," Skinner said. "Especially when we were on the kill for the five-on-three. They got some really good chances and they were moving the puck really well. You've got to give a lot of credit to their team. I thought they played really well. But the way that we defended, the way that we just battled block shots – Rico had a massive one. You can name every single guy for how hard they worked in our end."

After the Oilers got back to even strength, the Rangers came close on their next rush that saw Carrick strike the crossbar, which was their second shot off the iron after Schneider put one off the post earlier in the frame.

But through 40 minutes, the Oilers were up 1-0 despite being outshot 11-3 in the second period.

SKINNER & HENRIQUE SEAL THE WIN ON BROADWAY

Skinner seemed to have an answer for everything the Rangers threw at them on Tuesday night to come up with the shutout, backstopping the Oilers to their second straight win and a victory to kick off this five-game road trip that was sealed in the final minutes with an empty-netter from Adam Henrique.

Skinner battled to make two tough saves in the opening minute-and-a-half of the frame, turning aside a nifty deflection from J.T. Miller and a blast from Adam Fox that both caused goalmouth scrambles where the netminder was able to hold down the crease and keep the puck out of his net.

"He's huge for us and was all night," Nurse said. "Obviously, there's gonna be breakdowns, there's gonna be moments where he's gotta make big saves, and he did that a handful of times for us tonight. So we're very confident with him back there."

Defenceman Brett Kulak was tagged with a high-sticking call 8:19 into the final frame, and Skinner made four more saves on the penalty kill and 13 total in the third period, with none bigger than an incredible glove save on Carrick sliding across his crease to take away his former teammate's high-danger chance with less than five mintues left in regulation after the Oilers got back to even strength.

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the extra attacker, but after getting some good possession and a few solid looks at six-on-five, captain Connor McDavid combined with Andrew Mangiapane to get the puck up to Adam Henrique behind the defence for an easy empty-netter to seal the 2-0 victory.

Somehow, the Rangers have been kept off the scoresheet in three straight games, but the Oilers had to be alert defensively in front of a lock-solid Skinner to take away all two points on Broadway.

"That's a big win," Nurse said. "Obviously, they're a team that can produce a lot of offence. So for us to come out and lay down a blank sheet there to kick this road trip off, it's a good start, but we've got a lot of hockey yet to play."

The Oilers continue their road trip on Thursday night on Long Island against the New York Islanders.