Draisaitl extends point streak to 18, Oilers defeat Rangers

NEW YORK -- Leon Draisaitl had an assist to extend his point streak to 18 games, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the New York Rangers 3-1 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Draisaitl had the secondary assist on Corey Perry's first-period goal, and has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) during the streak.

Viktor Arvidsson and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers (39-24-4), who are second in the Pacific Division, four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and one ahead of the Los Angeles Kings. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three assists, and Stuart Skinner made 21 saves.

"[Skinner] was outstanding," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Their goalie on the other side, he's an elite goalie. (Skinner) stepped up and made some huge saves when we needed him to and stayed composed, but he kind of led the way.

Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers (33-29-6), who kept hold of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and five behind the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card. Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves after recording 21 in a 4-0 shutout against the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

"I thought it was a tight hockey game, a good hockey game going into the third period," New York coach Peter Laviolette said. "They scored one. We pressured, we had lots of chances, lots of look, couldn't get the next one to fall."

Perry gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 43 seconds into the first period. He tipped a shot from Draisaitl that was stopped by Shesterkin, before converting on a rebound in front.

Cuylle tied it 1-1 at 5:00 of the second period when the puck was in the crease behind Skinner and he shot it in. Artemi Panarin, who had an assist on the goal, extended his point streak to nine games (six goals, seven assists).

"I thought our energy was good despite the back to back, but we need wins at this time of year, especially, so there's no moral victories but we just got to turn the page and get ready for the next one," Cuylle said.

Arvidsson put the Oilers back ahead 2-1 at 6:09 of the third period after scoring off a give-and-go with Nugent-Hopkins, created on a giveaway by Rangers defenseman Brennan Othmann from behind the Oilers' net.

With the Rangers on the power play four minutes later, Skinner made a sprawling save on Mika Zibanejad at the side of the net to preserve the one-goal lead.

"It's actually the exact same play I got scored on in New Jersey (3-2 loss at the Devils on Thursday)," Skinner said. "… There's a blocked shot, or I made the save and then they're twisting and turning looking for it, then it goes right to the guy's stick. And I was able to get a piece of it today, and especially at the time, I think it was still 2-1 at the time. … Big save at a big time. Very happy I was able to get that one."

McDavid, who made it 3-1 at 16:35 with a wrist shot from just inside the left circle, extended his point streak to 11 games (three goals, 12 assists).

"Massive, being able to get up two is huge, especially with two and a half minutes left because obviously you know they are going to pull their goalie right away, so we knew we had a test for us 6-on-5," Skinner said.

The Oilers had 19 blocked shots, including a game-high six by defenseman Jake Walman.

"Probably the story in the third period was how many blocked shots we had. Walman had I think five or six tonight," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "It was just a lot of guys digging in and doing the right thing."

The Rangers were 0-for-3 on the power play and are 1-for-20 in their past seven games.

"Special teams are a big part at this time of year and they got the one with the man advantage and we didn't," New York forward J.T. Miller said.

Edmonton finished a four-game road trip 2-2-0 after losing the first two games.

"The best way for us to finish the road trip, especially with the way things started getting on the road. … It's a much better feeling going back home, getting some sleep knowing that you're able to at least get four points," Skinner said.

NOTES: Draisaitl's point streak is tied for the fourth-longest in NHL history by a player born outside North America. The only players with a longer streak are Mats Sundin (30 games, 1992-93), Dany Heatley (22 games, 2005-06) and Peter Stastny (19 games, 1983-84). … McDavid scored his 25th goal of the season, the ninth straight season he's reached that mark. Alex Ovechkin (15) and Draisaitl are the only other active players to achieve the feat. … Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard had his seven-game point streak end (four goals, four assists). … Edmonton forward Zach Hyman (undisclosed) did not play. He was limited to two shifts in the third period of a 2-1 overtime win at the New York Islanders on Friday. There was no update after the game.