PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Rangers

The Edmonton Oilers will host the New York Rangers on Saturday at Rogers Place on Hockey Night in Canada.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 8:00 MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Rangers

EDMONTON, AB – The New York Rangers are one of the best teams in the League, and the Edmonton Oilers will need their best on Saturday night as they welcome one of the NHL's most consistent teams of the last couple to Rogers Place for their third Original Six matchup in their last five games.

Edmonton had a rough showing in just about every facet on Thursday night, getting outplayed in their 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Corey Perry recorded a goal and an assist, while Leon Draisaitl tied Alex Ovechkin for the NHL's goalscoring lead with his 15th goal.

Despite that, the disappointing defeat on home ice dropped the Oilers to 10-9-2 this season, and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch feels its on the entire group to try and simplify their game going into a tough matchup with the Rangers at Rogers Place on Saturday night.

“We need to score more goals,” Knoblauch said post-game on Thursday. “You need skill to do that, but you also need some grit, to simplify the game and go hard to the net.”

“I definitely believe in this team and I think our record should be better than it is.”

One way the Oilers can elevate their game is by scoring more goals on the power play, but Connor Brown relayed that there is nothing to worry about regarding their man advantage, given the quality of players in their locker room and their proven success as a team.

"There's no concern about the power play in here," he said. "We have the best players in the world, and if you take a bigger sample size in 20 games, they're generating. When push comes to shove, they're a group that you can rely on.

"I think special teams are huge for momentum. At the beginning of the year, our penalty kill was kind of sucking the life out of our momentum at times in the game. But right now, I think we're adding to it like we did for a big portion of last year. There's a lot of pride in our special teams group and a lot of pride in our penalty kill."

Edmonton's power play is currently 22^nd in the NHL, and they have yet to record two or more power-play goals in a game.

“We have confidence in the five guys out there to execute,” Knoblauch added Thursday morning.

Connor McDavid has points in 12 of his 13 career games against the Rangers for a total of six goals and 19 points. Leon Draisaitl has recorded three or more points in four of his last 16 games against the Rangers – recording 18 points over that span. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 13 points in his last 11 games against New York, including six goals.

Vasily Podkolzin has recorded two goals in four career games against the Rangers, though he continues to search for his first Oilers goal.

The Oilers have dominated New York over their last ten meetings, picking up points in all but two of the matchups. They have seven wins for a 7-2-1 record over that span and have failed to record four or more goals twice in their last eight meetings.

The Oilers and Rangers split their season series last year, with each team earning a road win. After the Rangers blanked the Oilers 3-0 on October 26 at Rogers Place, the Oilers snagged a 4-3 win at Madison Square Garden for their second win in of what would eventually become a franchise-record 16-game win streak from Dec. 21, 2023 to Feb. 7, 2024.

New York comes into this matchup having won two of their last three games on their West Coast road trip. They dropped their most recent game to the Flames in a 3-2 defeat on Thursday.

Artemi Panarin leads the way for the Rangers with 24 points in 18 games, including ten goals. Adam Fox has posted 16 points in 18 games, but is still seeking his first goal of the campaign. Panarin has struggled to put the puck into the net against the Oilers as of late, as he has not lit the lamp versus Edmonton since New Year’s Eve of 2019 (1G, 3A). That was his only game as a Ranger where he's scored against the Oilers.

Calvin Pickard is the expected starter for the Oilers, having lost two of his last three starts after making 22 saves in his last appearance in a 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. His last start against the Rangers was in 2018 when he played for the Philadelphia Flyers, and he is 1-2-0 with a .907 save percentage over his career versus the Rangers.

At the other end, Igor Shesterkin is one of the undisputed best goalies in the NHL, but the Russian has struggled against the Oilers during his career.

The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner has posted a .869 save percentage in two career starts against Edmonton.