Kaapo Kakko scores but flaws exposed in 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers

The New York Rangers unbeaten start crashed to a halt on Saturday at Madison Square Garden as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the red hot Edmonton Oilers.  While it wasn’t an awful loss, some Ranger flaws were exposed.

The New York Rangers will live and die with their special teams.  They were unable to score on four power plays and were down a man when they gave up the game winning goal. They did get a goal from the second line, but the top line was held scoreless.  The bottom line was this was a game the Blueshirts could have won, but didn’t.

It was also a game that gave Ranger fans a chance to see two of the best players in the NHL in action as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl turned it on in the third period, propelling the Oilers to the win.

The first period was evenly played, except for the three minutes 21 seconds the Rangers were on the power play including 39 seconds of five on three. The Rangers had numerous scoring opportunities and it was sheer luck that the Oilers kept the puck out of the net.  Mika Zibanejad came thisclose to notching his fifth goal. Watching it unfold, you had the feeling that it was going to be one of those games.

Then, with 1:32 left in the period, the question that every Ranger fan was asking was answered.  That question of course was when was Kaapo Kakko going to score?

The young Finn executed a give and go with Ryan Strome and then scored a goal scorer’s goal, backhanding the puck past Oilers goalie Mike Smith.  The arena erupted and you could see the relief in Kakko when he made his way back to the bench.

Unfortunately, that was the end of highlights for the Rangers, except for some vintage Lundqvist saves.  The Oilers tied the score at 6:45 of the second period on a point shot by Oscar Klefbom that got by a screened Lundqvist.   The goat on the play was Buchnevich who had iced the puck, forcing a faceoff in the Rangers zone.  Zibanejad lost the draw cleanly to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who gave it to Klefbom for the shot.

Still, it was a tie game going into the third period when it became a tale of special teams. The Rangers had their chance when McDavid was called for tripping Mika Zibanjad at 6:20.  The Rangers couldn’t score and when Brendan Lemieux was called for interference, McDavid went to work. One minute into the power play it was a McDavid shot that deflected off Jacob Trouba’s skate for the lead.

Three minutes later, Leon Draisaitl batted a puck through Lundqvist for a 3-1 lead.  He  added an empty net goal to finish off the Blueshirts.  This is a different Edmonton Oilers team than the team that missed the playoffs last year.  They are more responsible defensively and played a patient game but opportunistic game, taking advantage when they had to.  With the win, the Oilers became the first team in NHL history to come from behind to win their first five games of the season.

No one expected the Rangers to win every game this season and the good news is this one was within reach.  The Blueshirts score on that early power play and it is a different game.  This is a young team that is still figuring out who they are.  The schedule hasn’t helped and the true test will start Thursday night when they begin a stretch of seven games in 13 days.