Oilers fall 2-0 to Rangers
Rangers goalie Lundqvist has easy night for 59th goose egg
When the New York Rangers announced Derick Brassard was out with the mumps, some smart aleck tweeted that the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t catch it because “they don’t get close enough to the opposition.”
Actually, the 30th-place Oilers stayed close to the visiting Rangers on Sunday at Rexall Place, falling 2-0, but the only thing contagious seems to be the losing.
This was the fourth straight loss for the Oilers and 15th in the last 16 games. Edmonton has gone seven straight games with scoring two or fewer goals and has only 17 goals in the last 12 games.
It was also the fourth time the Oilers have been blanked this season. Three of those shutouts were 2-0 on home ice — the other losses to the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils. They also lost 1-0 in overtime to the Predators at Nashville.
It was Henrik Lundqvist’s fifth shutout of the year, tying him with Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the NHL high, and the 59th of his career, which puts him 20th all-time.
Until Carl Hagelin put the game away with an emptynet goal with 22 seconds left to avenge an Oilers’ 3-1 win at Madison Square Garden a month ago, Edmonton had actually scored the game’s only goal. Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi’s 20-footer after taking a pass from Rick Nash glanced off Oilers captain Andrew Ference and past goaltender Ben Scrivens 16 minutes into the game.
It was the 19th time the Oilers have given up the first goal. For Nash, it marked the 10th straight game that he’s scored a point.
It was a typical Rangers game where they let very few shots get through to the net. The Oilers took only 16 shots that Lundqvist had to stop, and 21 were blocked.
“They do what they do well, they make it tough to generate shots. Pressure but no finish, and they’ve got a world-class goalie,” said Ference.
Ference wasn’t screaming foul after Girardi’s shot went in because he figures that’s how goals are scored in the NHL. They’re more paint-by-number than masterpieces most nights.
“You get pucks at the net and people at the net and sometimes the puck goes off your guy or one of their guys … doesn’t matter because there’s bodies and sticks. It’s chaotic. It’s even-strength, power play … and teams that put it there consistently. Like I said, it doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s goals in tight areas around the net.”
Ference, who’s blocked tons of shots in his career, applauded the work of the Rangers in the scoring areas.
“They’re really good in the (shooting) lanes and, sometimes, you can overthink it. You almost start looking for the perfect lane to shoot and it doesn’t always exist,” said Ference. “Sometimes, you don’t shoot because you know it’ll get blocked.”
Scrivens deserved a better fate as the Oilers wasted another good goaltending effort (they also had one in last Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks). He was helpless on the Girardi score and on the bench when Hagelin slid the puck into the empty net.
Scrivens went post to post to rob Rangers defenceman-captain Ryan McDonagh on a long rebound slapshot late in the second period. It was the highlight of a total sleeper of a game that veteran New York Post writer Larry Brooks so accurately tweeted “it’s as if the Rangers-Oilers game has the mumps.”
“The game was like watching paint dry. The game seemed to come to a standstill. It wasn’t a fast game by either side,” said Oilers coach Dallas Eakins.
“They played a helluva responsible game. A couple of years ago, the Rangers took on the mentality of shot- blocking where nothing was getting through.”
Taylor Hall was the only Oiler with more than two shots; he had three.
“They were a far different team tonight. Look at their back end (McDonagh, Dan Boyle and John Moore didn’t play in the 3-1 loss in New York),” Eakins continued.
“The players should be frustrated. I would be more concerned if they weren’t. When you’re not getting enough, you’re not supposed to be walking around with a smile on your face.”
The Rangers had to scratch their leading point-producing centre Brassard, the latest to come down with the NHL’s malady of the day, the mumps. He was flown back to New York on a private plane because he’s contagious.
“He went head-to-head with Sid (Crosby) all night (last Monday). Maybe Sid gave it to him,” said New York coach Alain Vigneault.
Brassard didn’t have an inoculation with the rest of his teammates because he had the f lu when the needles were being administered.
On the bench
Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom, who took a Ryan Getzlaf shot off his leg in Friday’s 4-2 loss to Anaheim, was scratched with a bruised foot. “He had an X-ray and it was negative. He’s out day-to-day,” said Oilers coach Dallas Eakins.
The Oilers summoned Brad Hunt (22 points in 17 games) from their Oklahoma City Barons farm team for a seventh defenceman, but Keith Aulie took Klefbom’s place. Hunt will go on the two-game road trip to Arizona and San Jose. The first game is 7 p.m. Tuesday at Glendale, Ariz.
Eakins said there’s nothing seriously wrong with centre Boyd Gordon’s back. He’s undergoing daily therapy after his back gave out on him last Sunday against the San Jose Sharks.