Kris Knoblauch admitted walking into the most famous arena in the world Friday was a whole different feel because just five weeks ago he was in charge of the New York Rangers’ farmhands and was even a stand-in NHL head man when former bench bosses David Quinn and Gerard Gallant were stuck in COVID protocol.
“A little bit more pressure as a (true) head coach now … before it was like a fantasy camp taking over the head-coaching responsibility. I don’t have the words for it, being the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, maybe after the game I will,” said Knoblauch after entering Madison Square Garden.
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“I think it’ll be fun after being in the Rangers organization for so many years. I was very fortunate they gave me the opportunity to join the Oilers … a lot of teams wouldn’t have allowed that (in season),” said Knoblauch, who was with the organization more than four years. “I did develop some players (winger Will Cuylle and blueliner Braden Schneider) for the Rangers, which is nice, but it’ll be nicer to leave this building with two points.”
And they did, even though it was a very, tough chore on a back-to-back after a rally in New Jersey Thursday, especially trying to beat the Rangers, who are off to the best start in their NHL history, the Beasts of the East. They went into the game with the most wins in the league (22), including a Jonathan Quick shutout and a 3-0 pasting at Rogers Place in late October when they put up Doug Weight and Charlie Huddy’s names on the Oiler Wall of Fame.
But the rematch still seemed ripe for a “Win One for the Skipper” storyline.
And that’s what we got in a wildly entertaining free-flow game from both sides with Oiler goalie Stuart Skinner outduelling Jonathan Quick in a 4-3 victory with Knoblauch getting an early Christmas present before heading back to Hartford for the first time since he was hired in mid November, to see his wife and two kids.
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“I’ll just say they all feel good as we’re trying to climb up in the standings. Very important two points going into the break,” said Knoblauch, certainly not into sowing any gloats against the former employee.
Just like in New Jersey Thursday, when the Oilers scored three in 69 seconds in the third and four times on the first six shots on Vitek Vanecek to romp 6-3, the Oilers finally got to Quick, who had made 47 straight stops over five periods against them, and scored three goals in 209 seconds and four in the first nine shots in the last period to knock off the Rangers. They got two in the last four minutes from Mika Zibanejad on a six-on-four power play with the goalie pulled, and Cuylle at 19:59 to make it closer than it could have been.
“Stu held the score down to just one against with some big saves and we were able to build a game in the second half,” said Knoblauch. “They’re a fast, big team and didn’t give us much room but as the game wore on … I just liked how we stuck with it. You don’t get many third-period rallies in this league and to do it on a back-to-back. I just loved our perseverance.”
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It was the first regulation loss of the season for Quick, this season’s Comeback Player, who came in 9-0-1 with a 2.09 average and .926 save percentage. This was really deju vu all over again squared, because last season the Oilers had four goals in nine shots in 13 ½ minutes of the third period to overcome a 3-0 hole at MSG.
In this one, the Rangers were nursing a one-goal lead on Blake Wheeler’s goal off a fantastic feed from Zibanejad in the first period until the third-period Oiler explosion, when they beat Quick, fast.
Zach Hyman with a backhand, Evander Kane off his own rebound, his first goal against a netminder since Nov. 28 vs. Vegas, Foegele with a bullet, his second goal in 25 games and Ryan McLeod with his third goal in the last two nights, all got to Quick.
Skinner was battered but held firm as the Oilers got back to .500. He stopped 18 straight shots after Zibanejad’s slapper drilled him in the mask, breaking the strap in the first minute of the second to stop play, wiping out an Artemi Panarin goal, before giving the late ones.
“He (Zibanejad) came up after the shot, after he almost knocked me out, and I made the save and he said OK, we’re all even now,” said Skinner, who had robbed Zibanejad with a blocker save. “It made me laugh. They were really good after that with a lot of their players coming up to see if I was all right. Really professional and very kind of them.”
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“The Rangers have been really hot but I thought our team showed a lot of resiliency,” said Skinner.
Would the Oilers have won without Skinner?
“Obviously not. He was really good in the first and somehow even better in the second, made some great east-west saves. Gave us a chance to hang around. He stymied a lot of their offensive chances and allowed us to strike back,” said Kane.
“Great goal by Hymes to crack the seal and get us on the board and after that the floodgates opened. Nice to get on the scoresheet, limited minutes. I thought our line (Derek Ryan and Mattias Janmark) did a good job. Derek was great in the faceoff circle and Jani did what he does best, go up and down and dig pucks out of the corner,” said Kane.
Foegele was all over it, playing right-wing on a line with McLeod and Draisaitl. “We’ve barely played together but I think we give Leo a lot of speed, opening up lanes. Leo’s such a great passer,” said Foegele, who scored on a 2-on-1 with Draisaitl, using him as a decoy to blow one by Quick for the third goal.
“Right before that, I had a 2-on-1 and passed and Davo (Connor McDavid) told me on the bench I had to start shooting. I don’t know about looking off Leo but luckily we scored,” said Foegele.
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This ‘n that: Sam Gagner, who had two primary assists against the Devils, was out after some friendly fire in the third period in New Jersey after teammate Vinny Desharnais’s stick inadvertently hit him in the face with 13 minutes to play. No word on the extent of the problem, but Knoblauch said “it’s short-term.” Connor Brown took Gagner’s spot on the roster after Brown was a healthy scratch against the Devils … The Oilers were the last NHL team to have a back-to-back after Thursday’s game in New Jersey … Three-time Oilers Cup winner Steve Smith took over for Knoblauch when he left Hartford the Oilers job on Nov. 13. Smith, who had been assistant coach for two-plus years, is 8-5 as interim head man of the Rangers’ AHL club … Ex Oilers forward Mike Peca, part of the magical Oilers run to the 2006 Cup final, is an assistant coach to Peter Laviolette in New York.
2023-12-23 04:33:34
#Oilers #stage #thirdperiod #rally #row #defeat #Rangers
