The New York Rangers moved to 5-5-2 with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. Captain J.T. Miller scored the game-winning goal at 2:49 in the extra frame, but there could have been a completely different outcome for New York after a disappointing initial 40 minutes.
The Rangers failed to capitalize on a power play opportunity towards the end of the second period, and head coach Mike Sullivan sensed that his team felt defeated. The group is 4-for-30 on the power play this season,
“It kind of sucked the life out of our team there and we kind of lost our way for the rest of that period. I just talked to them about resetting their mindset,” Sullivan told Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “It doesn't always go your way, and you got to make sure that you dig in and you don't become your own worst opponent by allowing your frustration to get the best of you. It was about a reset and going out and digging in. If we get the next goal, we're in striking distance.”
The Rangers entered the final period trailing 3-1, but goals from defenseman Braden Schneider and right wing Taylor Raddysh allowed them to force overtime, where Miller would complete the comeback.
“The third period was great,” Miller said after the game. “I didn’t have my best today. Obviously, changed the lines up a little bit, trying to spark something. We just had so many guys contribute. [Noah Laba] was unbelievable today. You see Rads chip in again, Schneids. We need that throughout the course of the season, you know what I mean? You have that depth scoring, and they played a heck of a game and drove play for us today and made it easy for the next line going out there.
“That was a true team effort. When they had their looks, [Igor Shesterkin] played awesome today. That’s just a big team win, something that we can really build on going forward.”
The Rangers will face the Kraken in Seattle on Saturday.
