Oilers smothered by Rangers 8-2

Oilers forward Shawn Horcoff tries to get the puck past Rangers goalie Martin Biron Sunday, November 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

 

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PRE-GAME

Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Video interviews Audio Interviews

PHOTOS

Click here for the photo gallery

VIDEO

Oilers Post-Game: Comments from Fraser, Whitney, MacIntyre & coach Renney following the game Jones & Eberle connect Horcoff scores 28 seconds later Brawl on Broadway Full Highlights

AUDIO

Head Coach Tom Renney Steve MacIntyre Theo Peckham Ryan Whitney Colin Fraser Audio Highlights 3rd Period Brawl

THREE STARS

Marian Gaborik, NYR Alex Frolov, NYR Erik Christensen, NYR

UPDATE

With the loss, the Oilers drop to 4-9-3.

MORE

Under the Scope

WHAT'S NEXT

The game in New York City marks the end of the Oilers' longest road trip of the season, a five-game stretch that started Nov. 7 in Chicago. The team flies back to Edmonton after the game and prepares to host the Blackhawks Wednesday, Nov. 17 at Rexall Place. The game starts at 7:30pm MT and will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet Oilers.

Despite keeping pace with the Rangers through the first 25 minutes of Sunday's matinee, the Oilers were soon overwhelmed as the game progressed. Buoyed by fast goals and big fights, New York scored seven straight goals to seal an 8-2 win over Edmonton.

Under the Scope

FIRST PERIOD

The Rangers made an immediate impact. Only 1:35 into the matinee, Marian Gaborik capitalized on chaos in the Oilers zone by forcing the puck under goalie Nikolai Khabibulin to give the home team an early 1-0 lead.

New York assumed a 4-0 shot lead before Taylor Hall tallied Edmonton's first attempt on Martin Biron near the seven-minute mark. Both teams had added another shot each when Steve Eminger tripped up Gilbert Brule and gave the Oilers the game's first power-play. The visitors had one good scoring opportunity but couldn't get the puck past Biron.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjZF1Cdx7Eo&feature=player_embedded
A second Oilers power-play in the frame's final three minutes had the same result, and the Rangers carried their one-goal lead into the second period.

SECOND PERIOD

The Rangers got the first two shots of the middle frame, but the Oilers were the first to make two go in.

At 2:45, Jordan Eberle cycled the puck around the net and deflected it over to Ryan Jones, who fired past Biron for the equalizer. 28 seconds later, Shawn Horcoff floated the puck over the goalie's glove to put Edmonton ahead.

The lead didn't last long, however. Although Khabibulin followed up his club's goals with some big stops, the Rangers persisted and regained their lead before the midway point of the game.

First, Erik Christensen set up Gaborik for a breakaway, which he capped with his second goal of the game. Then 24 seconds later, Brian Boyle snapped the puck past Khabibulin to set the score 3-2.

New York then went on the power-play. Although Ladislav Smid was able to complete his full two minutes for tripping, the Rangers got their goal 10 seconds later when Artem Anisimov deflected the puck off his skate and across the line. Video review proved the goal was good and the home team went up 4-2.

The two-goal game seemed destined for the third period, but with only five seconds left on the clock, the Rangers added another one. Poised at Khabibulin's left, Alex Frolov tapped the puck into the net to make it 5-2 New York. With helpers on the play, Gaborik and Christensen earned their third points of the game.

THIRD PERIOD

Less than three minutes into the third, tough guys Steve MacIntyre and Derek Boogaard dropped their gloves for a much-anticipated fight. The dust-up was fairly subdued with plenty of grappling, and both players headed to the penalty boxes no worse for wear.

The initial fight obviously didn't settle the score, because six minutes later, the pair exchanged blows again. The second fight between MacIntyre and Boogaard was followed shortly by a quick brawl between Ladislav Smid and Sean Avery, which paved for way for mayhem between the benches. After Avery blindsided Colin Fraser, Smid challenged him to fight. After initially declining, Avery suckerpunched Smid when he wasn't looking and the bout was on.

Following that incident, Theo Peckham went after Avery, drawing interaction between Fraser and the Rangers bench, a shoving match involving Ryan Whitney, and a full-on fight between Zack Stortini and Brandon Prust. Fighting majors and game misconducts were assessed to a handful of players.

Fired up from the fights, New York responded with another three goals courtesy of Frolov, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Gaborik on a breakaway for the hat trick.

The goals sealed an 8-2 loss and a disappointing five-game road trip for the Oilers.