Oilers 2, Rangers 0
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist and Nikolai Khabibulin made 19 saves to give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-0 shutout win against the New York Rangers on Saturday night.
Nugent-Hopkins put together another impressive performance and is making a case to stick with the Oilers past the nine-game cutoff mark, when Edmonton must decide whether to send him to his junior team or keep him in the NHL.
The No. 1 overall pick’s second-period goal was his team-leading fifth of the season. Corey Potter also added a power-play tally while Jordan Eberle notched two assists as the Oilers (3-2-2) snapped a two-game skid.
Khabibulin stopped four shots in the first, seven in the second and seven in the third for his first shutout of the season. It was the 44th shutout of his career.
Eberle started the opening-goal sequence by chipping the puck from the Oilers’ own zone ahead to Taylor Hall. He carried it up along the right side before dropping the puck to Nugent-Hopkins, who fired a snap shot from the slot that beat Henrik Lundqvist’s stick side at 10:09 of the second.
Lundqvist made 22 saves for the Rangers (2-2-2) before leaving the ice midway through the third because of cramping.