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The New York Rangers didn't play their best brand of hockey on Friday night. Star forward Mika Zibanejad echoed a similar sentiment after the game in which the Edmonton Oilers won 4-3 at Madison Square Garden. The most painful aspect of the loss is the manner in which it happened.
The Rangers entered the final frame with a 1-0 lead. Blake Wheeler's goal in the first period gave the Blueshirts the advantage over Edmonton. However, the Oilers had a lot of fight left in them. In fact, they scored all four of their goals in the third period. Zibanejad and Will Cuylle scored to cut the lead, but it was too little, too late.
Zibanejad told reporters that he felt his team was off their game from the get-go. “I thought throughout the whole game, it wasn’t a great game by us by any means,” the Rangers star said, via NHL.com.
Mika Zibanejad, Rangers couldn't stop the bleeding
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New York fell apart in quick order against the Oilers. Goalie Jonathan Quick hadn't allowed a goal against Edmonton in five periods, dating back to their previous matchup on October 26. However, he allowed four goals on 10 shots in Friday night's contest.
This loss to the Oilers is just New York's second in their last six games. The Rangers are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference as of this writing. In fact, they maintain a five-point lead over the Philadelphia Flyers atop the Metropolitan Division.
“We didn’t get up to our level. We still had the lead going into the third, but we have to be better than that and we have a chance redeem ourselves tomorrow and finish on a good note before the [holiday] break,” Zibanejad said, via NHL.com.
The Rangers have a shot at that redemption on Saturday night. The Blueshirts remain home as they play host to an intrastate rival. New York takes on a Buffalo Sabres team coming off an emphatic 9-3 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
