Rangers at Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers look to pull out of a rough stretch and knock off one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference when they host the New York Rangers on Sunday night. The Oilers have dropped consecutive games at Pittsburgh and at home against Dallas, falling to 2-4-1 in their last seven outings after a tremendous start to the season that had them on top of the Western Conference.
Edmonton’s 19-year-old captain Connor McDavid will try to end a seven-game goal drought, but he has posted five assists in the last three and leads the team with 18 points in 15 contests. The Rangers will pose stiff competition after notching their sixth win in seven games Saturday with a 4-1 triumph at Calgary, and boast a league-best 62 goals in 15 contests (4.13 per outing). Michael Grabner continued a strong start by notching his team-leading eighth goal against the Flames while rookie Jimmy Vesey scored his seventh. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his 11 starts this season for the Rangers after stopping 35 of 36 shots on Saturday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), Sportsnet 1 (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (11-4-0): Forward J.T. Miller recorded his ninth assist Saturday to take over the team lead in points with 14 for the balanced Rangers, who boast 14 players with at least eight. Captain Ryan McDonagh notched his team-leading 10th assist in the win against Calgary and center Derek Stepan scored his second goal of the campaign. Nick Holden, an offseason acquisition, leads all defensemen for New York with a plus-11 rating and rookie blue-liner Brady Skjei has impressed with nine assists to go along with a plus-5.
ABOUT THE OILERS (9-5-1): While McDavid has not been able hit the back of the net of late, Jordan Eberle registered two goals and two assists over the past two games and Patrick Maroon leads the team with six tallies — four in the last five contests. Forward Tyler Pitlick scored three goals over 27 games in his first two NHL seasons and has recorded five in the first 15 contests of 2016-17. Power forward Zach Kassian (lower-body) is questionable for Sunday’s game and the Oilers are without veteran defenseman Kris Russell (lower-body).
OVERTIME
1. The Rangers have won three of the last four meetings, including a 5-3 triumph in New York on Nov. 3.
2. Edmonton G Cam Talbot, who was acquired from the Rangers before last season, has allowed at least three goals in all five games this month.
3. New York F Kevin Hayes saw his six-game point streak (four goals, six assists) come to an end Saturday in Calgary.