PREVIEW: Oilers at Rangers

The Edmonton Oilers begin their first road trip of the season on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Rangers

NEW YORK, NY – First bite of the road in the Big Apple.

The Edmonton Oilers are in New York to begin their first road trip of the season on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, starting with the first of three games in the concrete jungle against the Blueshirts, the Islanders and the Devils.

The Oilers will continue their five-game roadie in Detroit on Sunday with the second of a back-to-back against the Red Wings before finishing the trip next Tuesday in the nation’s capital against the Senators.

After falling in the shootout to the Flames in their Home Opener last week at Rogers Place, the Oilers responded against another Canadian rival this past Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the Canucks that got them off and running with their first win of the 2025-26 NHL campaign.

“We're not going to control all 60 minutes,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “A lot of credit for the guys. Often, when you're playing well and you're getting those scoring chances, it's so easy to cheat the game. ‘We're not doing enough to score, we gotta do something else.'

“I thought they stuck with it, and I thought it was a solid game.”

If it weren’t for the heroics of goaltender Thatcher Demko, who made 34 saves that included nine across five scoreless power plays for the Oilers, it could’ve been a much more flattering scoreline in a contest where Edmonton thoroughly outshot Vancouver by a 37-15 margin.

“He was the difference for a large chunk there, so I thought we were the better team," Leon Draisaitl said. "We played really well, had our legs, and all four lines were kind of going and different guys chipping in, so I think we're going to be a hard team to beat when we consistently find a way to play like that."

Depth scoring and a commitment to team defence carried the Oilers through for most of the contest before Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined to register their only points on an empty netter that sealed Edmonton’s deserved victory late in the third period.

At 12:21 of the middle frame, centre Noah Philp recorded his first career NHL goal to open the scoring on a fast counter-attack with linemates Kasperi Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin, who've helped form a highly physical and fast third line for the Oilers and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch.

"All three of them played well tonight," Knoblauch said after Saturday’s win. "We gave them more heavy minutes, more difficult situations, and I thought the three of them played well, and it's good to see Noah get rewarded with that goal."

"I love playing with both of those guys. They just bring so much," Philp added. "And I think when we're all moving and we're all working, we're strong and we can get a lot of pucks back and create a lot. I'm hoping to just keep building with those guys."

Philp said it’s a testament to everyone who helped him reach the NHL after taking a hiatus from professional hockey in 2023-24 before returning last season, scoring 19 goals and registering 15 assists in 55 AHL games with the Condors while registering two assists in 15 NHL games with the Oilers.

"It just reminds me of all the people that supported me, and I'm just grateful to be here," Philp said.

As Philp continues to increase his comfort level in the NHL, Knoblauch thinks the 27-year-old is in a great spot on that third line with Kapanen and Podkolzin to continue growing his game and have an impact.

Winger Andrew Mangiapane has goals in back-to-back games to begin his tenure in Blue & Orange, making it 2-0 in the second period after accepting a gift of a giveaway from forward Filip Chytil and scoring unassisted in his 500^th NHL game.

Mangiapane became the second Oilers player in the past 10 seasons to score in each of his first two games with the franchise, joining Derick Brassard (two games in 2021-22), and appears set for a significant role in Oil Country.

Brock Boeser made it 2-1 early in the third period, but thanks to some resilient defending in front of goaltender Calvin Pickard and an important penalty kill late in regulation for the Oilers, Draisaitl was able to secure the victory while playing at six-on-four in the final minutes with a confident no-look backhand from the neutral zone into Vancouver’s empty net.

Pickard needed to make only 14 saves to pick up the win, and that's a result of the players in front of him doing everything they can to stop pucks from getting to the blue paint – including Darnell Nurse's painful block on the penalty kill late in the victory that sent the defenceman to the ice and drew a whistle.

"I saw it coming, and I just heard a scream because it hit him right in the back," Pickard said of Nurse's block. "He's gonna have a big welt for it, but it's just the sacrifice these guys have. They've played huge games for years, and it's game two of 82. You can dip your toe in the water for some of these veterans, but they're out there to work and out there to defend."

Committed to having a better start this season, Coach Knoblauch has seen the buy-in from his players that showed itself in their commitment on Tuesday to coming out with another solid effort over the full 60 minutes against the Canucks; but this time, without the loss of a three-goal lead like what happened on opening night versus Calgary.

“We’ve got to help ourselves out a little bit more compared to the last two years,” Draisaitl said. “You can build a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence within your group if you get off to a good start. You see it with a lot of teams – they get off to a really good start, then they just kind of carry it the rest of the way. They’re a playoff team.”