Nash's late strike lifts Rangers over Oilers
NEW YORK --Rick Nash scored with 1:21 remaining in the third period to lift the New York Rangers to a 5-3 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
Nash was parked in front of the net when defenseman Ryan McDonagh fired a shot that hit bodies in front and came to Nash's stick for his sixth goal of the season.
J.T. Miller added an empty-net goal with 1:04 remaining to seal the win.
Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner had a goal and an assist and Jesper Fast also scored for the Rangers. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 20 shots.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Patrick Maroon and Adam Larsson scored for the Oilers, who got 26 saves from goaltender Cam Talbot.
Larsson and Fast scored their first of the season 42 seconds apart midway through the third period. Larsson's goal was a long slap shot through a screen that beat Lundqvist between the legs, then Fast countered to pull the Rangers into a 3-3 tie when he deflected a hard pass from left winger Brandon Pirri while driving to the net.
Nugent-Hopkins got the Oilers on the board at 6:36 of the first period with his first goal of the season. The power-play goal was courtesy of a pass from right winger Jordan Eberle off the skate of center Connor McDavid and right to Nugent-Hopkins near the crease.
Hayes countered less than two minutes later with his fourth goal, a slam-dunk at the post after Grabner fired a no-look pass across the crease and onto Hayes' blade to tie the score at 1.
The Oilers and Rangers exchanged goals again in the second period, with Maroon restoring Edmonton's lead at 10:28 with his third of the season. It was a 2-on-1 rush after two Rangers fell at their attacking blue line, which allowed right winger Jesse Puljujarvi to dish to Maroon for the backhand goal.
The red-hot Grabner drew the Rangers back into a tie at 15:46. Left winger J.T. Miller had his shot denied by Talbot but Grabner beat Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson to the loose puck and slid it home to tie the game at 2.
NOTES: Oilers C Connor McDavid missed both games against the Rangers last season due to his collarbone injury. ... Oilers G Cam Talbot has started every game this season. Talbot, who was with the Rangers for two seasons before joining the Oilers in 2014, did not play in either game against his former team last season. ... Oilers LW Anton Slepyshev and D Eric Gryba were scratched. ... Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist has started nine of 11 games this season. ... Rangers D Adam Clendening and C Oscar Lindberg were scratched.