GAME RECAP: Rangers 3, Oilers 0

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers dropped their record to 1-5-1 to begin the 2023-24 NHL season with a 3-0 defeat to the New York Rangers at Rogers Place on Thursday night.

"Tough game for our group," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Certainly we're in the mud puddle right now, and the only way out of it is to work your way out of it. I thought tonight there were moments where we were waiting for something bad to happen, and through experience, I know that the only way you come out of something like this is through working."

After a scoreless opening period that was highlighted by Stuart Skinner's right-pad save on Filip Chytil in the final minute, defencemen Adam Fox and Braden Schneider, along with forward Alexis Lafreniere, all found the back of the net in a three-goal second period for the Blueshirts.

"I think the same thing as the other night – just 40 minutes that we'd probably be happy with, and 20 that we're not. That's the difference," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "At the end of the day, it's just not good enough. But in game seven, we don't have time to hang our heads here, get frustrated and 'woe was me.' It's time right now, and it doesn't matter what we've done in the past.

"It's about right now and it's about looking forward to Sunday."

Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick earned the shutout with 29 saves, setting the NHL record for the most shutouts by an American netminder with his 59th career clean sheet, while Skinner was solid in his first career game against the Rangers despite the defeat with 29 saves.

Prior to puck drop, Doug Weight and Charlie Huddy had their names enshrined on the wall of honour above the PCL Loge Level at Rogers Place as the 2023 class of the Oilers Hall of Fame.

The Blue & Orange look to correct course on Sunday in the 2023 Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames at Commonwealth Stadium.

"We have no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We're very confident in this group. We know how good of a team we are," Zach Hyman said. "Obviously it hasn't shown to start the season, but I think with this outdoor game, it's an event where we can go out there and we can work by just focusing on one game."

FIRST PERIOD

If not for the late opening-period contributions in between the pipes from a 'stu-pendous' Stuart Skinner, the Oilers would've found themselves trailing at the first intermission.

The Oilers netminder denied Filip Chytil with an incredible right-pad save on a two-on-one with Alexis Lafreniere in the final minute of the first period after a pinch along the boards from Mattias Ekholm led to the Rangers' odd-man rush. The former 2020 first-overall pick sauced it across to his Czech teammate, but Chytil's one-timer was stopped in its tracks by the outstretched pad of the Edmonton-born netminder, who made 10 saves in the opening period.

"We can't be relying on our goaltenders to make five or six, two-on-one saves a night," Nurse said."We can't be putting our partners, and I said goalies, in bad spots. But at the same, there are six guys on the ice at all times and we got to be out there helping each other."

Skinner's saves were steady and sporadic in the opening frame, with the goaltender keeping the score tied 0-0 midway through the period when a dump-in from the Rangers bounced fortunately in front of Edmonton's net for Mika Zibanejad, who was stopped point blank by Skinner from getting a piece of the attempt with his glove.

A 10-5 deficit in shots for the OIlers wasn't indicative of the number of quality chances they generated in the first 20 minutes, with Warren Foegele coming the closest to opening the scoring for the Oilers when he hit the post off Brett Kulak's rebound inside the game's opening four minutes.

The winger's had a strong start with three goals and an assist in his first six games to begin the season, while earning a top-six role in the absence of captain Connor McDavid due to injury.

SECOND PERIOD

The middle frame is where the visitors started to take charge.

Defenceman Adam Fox opened the scoring on New York's second chance with the man advantage when the former Norris Trophy winner fluttered a one-timer from the left circle over the sliding Skinner at 3:32 of the opening period.

Another blueliner for the Blueshirts doubled their advantage when Braden Schneider narrowly avoided the offside off forward Jimmy Vesey's pass before his shot clipped a piece of Darnell Nurse en route to the top-right corner. Fox would add a helper as part of a two-point period.

A cross-ice one-timer for Lafreniere compounded Edmonton's frustrations with 1:51 remaining in the second period, leaving them with a three-goal deficit with the final 20 minutes remaining to mount a comeback.

"I don't know if there's one specific thing," Nugent-Hopkins said. "It's little breakdowns here and there, but it's being able to maintain the same level for a full 60 minutes, and tonight, it was the wall in the second period and we can't have it. Teams are too good. There are too many good players out there to make you pay, and if you lolly for five-to-ten minutes, you're going to pay for it. Right now, that's what we're seeing."

THIRD PERIOD

The Oilers poured the pressure on over the final frame in search of a way back into the hockey game, but it wasn't meant to be.

Edmonton outshot New York 11-4 over the final 20 minutes, but met stern opposition between the pipes in Quick, who'd been 5-10-1 against the Oilers since the 2016-17 season as the longtime netminder for the Los Angeles Kings but improved to 25-11-6 all-time versus Edmonton with the win.

Zach Hyman solidified a frustrating night for the Blue & Orange when his wide-open opportunity inside the final eight minutes was swallowed up by the glove of Quick, who would earn the shutout with 29 saves.

"The third period was good, but we didn't play well for 40 minutes, so you can't win in this league if you're not bringing 60-minute efforts," Darnell Nurse said. "It's as simple as that, so we have to reset. We can't feel sorry for ourselves."

PARTING WORDS

Woodcroft on the team needing a spark to ignite their season with a 1-5-1 record:

"It hasn't happened yet. We have belief in the people in our room. We have a group that's been together here for a while, that has been through tough times before, and one that knows the answers are within the room. But there has to be a collective coming together to solve problems. Right now, we're not firing on every cylinder yet."

Nugent-Hopkins on the urgency in the dressing room heading into Sunday's Heritage Classic:

"Yeah, we know where we're at early, but it needs to happen now. Like I said, we're going to be laser-focused for Sunday. That's the only thing in our mind right now, Tonight, like I said, 40 [minutes] that we're probably happy with, 20 that we're not, and that's the story."

"I would say there's probably a bit of frustration that we need to get out right now. We have a couple of days here to regroup and it's early, but we know how important getting things going now is. Like I said, it doesn't really matter what we've done in the past. It's about here and now. It starts on Sunday."

Hyman on the Heritage Classic being a good reset point for the team with family in town:

"I think everybody, almost everybody has somebody here – friends, family, people who you care about, people who helped you along the way to get to where you're at. So if you can't get up and show up for a game on Sunday, this is a game that we're all going to be ready for and that we all need to be ready for. Not just for the event, but for the season, for where we are at as a team, to co actively grow as a team. I think that we've been a team that's faced adversity multiple times. This is adversity to start the year. Obviously, we want us to start the year off better, but we are here now and ready to elevate here.

Nugent-Hopkins on keeping the group accountable:

"I think first and foremost, we've got to hold ourselves individually accountable. Everybody needs to step up. We all know there can't be any finger-pointing. We just talked about it. I mean, everybody needs to step up and I don't think anybody should be happy with the way it's gone for obviously the team, but individually either. There's not much else to say. You've got to look forward to Sunday here and we need to put our best foot forward.