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OILERS TODAY | Jessica Kent wraps up the game
POST-GAME RAW | McDavid
POST-GAME RAW | Talbot
POST-GAME RAW | Nugent-Hopkins
POST-GAME RAW | Oilers head coach Todd McLellan
WHAT'S NEXT
The Oilers return home after the game but will then quickly depart for Winnipeg on Monday in time for Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place. The game can be seen on Sportsnet Oilers and heard on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED. Puck drop is 6:08 p.m. MDT.
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Inside The Oilers Blog
"We took a step forward," said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan. "We're obviously happy with the win. We needed one. It provided a little bit of relief and we'll certainly enjoy the flight (home) a little bit more than if the outcome was the other way."
Vladislav Namestnikov was called for holding after hauling down Kailer Yamamoto on an Oilers three-on-two five minutes into the third period and that set up the power play which led to the winning goal.
Just over a minute into the man advantage, McDavid swooped in and quickly backhanded the puck low past Lundqvist to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead.
"There's some other players who had to keep the play alive for Connor to put it in," McLellan noted. "He has the hands and skill set to scoop it out of a bad spot and put it in the net."
After taking the 2-1 lead, the Oilers were able to hold on for the victory. Shot count in the game was 27-24.
"Power play got us a goal. Penalty kill did a pretty good job. We stayed patient," McLellan continued. "We checked well down the stretch and got saves when we needed them. It was a complete team win. For us to be successful, we have to bottle that up and play that a little bit more than what we've been playing with earlier."
The first penalty of the game went to Evan Bouchard for holding as he pinned Kevin Hayes up against the boards behind the Oilers net five minutes in but Edmonton was able to kill it off.
Marc Staal's centring pass from the left side boards was tipped but still found its way onto the stick of Zibanejad. He made no mistake, one-timing a blast by Cam Talbot to put New York on the board with seven minutes to play in the first.
88 seconds later, the Oilers tied it. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins drove to the net and picked up a rebound on a shot from Darnell Nurse, lifting it past Henrik Lundqvist to make it a 1-1 game.
"I definitely felt more comfortable on the ice (today) than the first two games," said Nugent-Hopkins. "Against Boston I felt pretty good. A couple shots (against Boston) if they go in, the game changes but it was good today. We stuck with it and had a hard working game. We know these guys can score. We wanted to keep the checking tight and that's what we did."
After one, shots on goal were 10-7 for the Rangers.
Edmonton really started to take over the game in the second period, particularly in the latter half of the frame. The pace of play started to pick up with action going end to end and both teams having some great chances.
Jesse Puljujarvi dished a feed to Drake Caggiula in front and his quick shot was stopped by Lundqvist. But the play forced Staal to hook Caggiula, drawing a penalty and giving the Oilers their first power play of the game.
The Oilers had several great looks on the ensuing power play but could not connect. They used the momentum from that man advantage to continue their strong play.
