Rangers Extend Streak to Six With Win Over Oilers

The Rangers' power play was again the difference with two goals in the second period that lifted the Blueshirts to a 4-2 win over the Oilers Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.
Pavel Buchnevich and Rick Nash scored power play goals 3:43 apart in the middle frame to help extend the team's winning streak to six games.
With New York trailing, 2-1, thanks to a power play goal by Connor McDavid 10:06 into the second, Buchnevich converted on a hard cross-ice pass by Kevin Shattenkirk in the slot to even the score. The goal was Buchnevich's seventh goal and 11th point in his last nine games.

"I knew when Mats [Zuccarello] gave me that pass through the seam Pavel was coming off the bench," said Shattenkirk, who extended his point streak to seven games with the assist. "I could kind of see him out of the side of my eye and knew he was going to have a good one-time there."

Nash potted his second of the game when Brady Skjei fired a pass to the side of the net, which Nash redirected over Cam Talbot for the one-goal advantage. Nash said New York talked about the possibility of that cross-ice pass possibly being available due to Talbot's aggressive style.
"We knew there would be a chance it'd be open," Nash said. "Me and Brady talked about it. He made a great pass and you just try and build a wall with your skates and your stick and hope it hits something."

Nash opened the scoring 12:19 into the game on a 2-on-1 break with Kevin Hayes, who fed Nash for the one-timer. Nash now has five goals in his last four games.
Edmonton scored the next two, beginning with Jesse Puljujarvi's first goal of the season at 16:26 of the first before McDavid's power play tally in the second.
Michael Grabner scored an empty-net goal with 1.4 seconds remaining.
The power play has been a catalyst for the team's rebound following a tough start to the season, especially during this current win streak. The Rangers have power play goals in five of their last seven games, doing 9-for-23 during that stretch.
"It's definitely made a big difference for us," said Shattenkirk, who is tied for first among defensemen with nine power play points. "We've had a few games here where it's helped us get back in the game and take the lead. More than anything, we've gotten momentum off it no matter what, and I think that's our focus every time we get out there."
It was nearly two weeks ago that New York was 3-7-2 out of the gate. Now, they're tied with New Jersey and Pittsburgh for the most points in the Metropolitan Division.
"I think we'd been playing some pretty good hockey for quite some time. Our record in the last 10 games is very good. Probably one of the best in the NHL right now," coach Alain Vigneault said. "We're working on our game; we're working on putting a complete game on the ice. There's no doubt that this group is very resilient, very hard-working and we're just trying to get better."