Rangers Return Home to Host the Resurgent Edmonton Oilers

After two impressive wins over the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road, the Rangers are back at Madison Square Garden where they will host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (7:30PM on ESPN+).

Rangers	Rankings	Oilers
22-7-1	Record	14-15-1
3rd	League Rank	27th
13th	Goals For	7th
8th	Goals Against	26th
1st	Power play	4th
5th	Penalty Kill	21st

The Blueshirts are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. New York’s motto was to get pucks to the net and it paid off as three of their five goals deflected off of Toronto defenders and into the back of the net. Igor Shesterkin played in both games on the two-game road trip and the Russian netminder allowed just three goals in six periods plus overtime.

New York will now face the high octane offense of the Edmonton Oilers which consists of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid is having what some say is a “down year,” but his down year still consists of 43 points in just 28 games played. Draisaitl has 35 points in 30 games on the season. Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman all are also point-per-game players for the Oilers.

Perhaps the biggest story for the Oilers entering Friday night’s game in Madison Square Garden is that former Rangers minor league head coach Kris Knoblauch will be returning to New York as the head coach of the Oilers for the first time. Jay Woodcroft was released from his coaching duties after a 3-9-1 start to the season. Since Woodcroft’s firing, Knoblauch has led the Oilers to a record of 11-6-0 since taking over which has led to their resurgence. The 45-year-old was the head coach of the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League where he coached McDavid prior to the superstar getting drafted.

Knoblauch’s most famous moment during his tenure in the Rangers organization was when he was at practice with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rangers General Manager Chris Drury called Knoblauch at 11:30, in the middle of his practice, to let him know that he may be coaching that night in New York. By 1PM, it was confirmed that then head coach David Quinn and his entire coaching staff was in the Covid-protocol and would not be behind the bench. Knoblauch got to New York as fast as he could and what followed was New York dismantling the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 9-0 in his first game behind the bench. The Blueshirts will be hoping that won’t be the case as he returns to Madison Square Garden coaching the visitors.

The Oilers overcame a 3-2 deficit in the third period on Thursday night to defeat the New Jersey Devils by the score of 6-3. With Calvin Pickard recording the win in New Jersey, the Rangers will see Edmonton’s top netminder Stuart Skinner. Skinner has a record of 11-9-1 with an .884 save percentage on the season.

For New York, Jonathan Quick will get the call for Peter Laviolette’s men. With Quick playing most of his career in the western conference, he will be familiar with the Oilers whereas Shesterkin can prepare for the Sabres on Saturday evening. According to Statmuse, Quick has an all time record of 25-11-6 against the Oilers with a .922 save percentage.

On the injury front, Kaapo Kakko has resumed skating on his own for the past few days, but he won’t be back until after the holiday break and likely into the new year. Filip Chytil is still skating on his own and has no estimated time table on when he will be back.

The bet of the night – Jacob Trouba to record over 2.5 blocked shots against the Oilers. Trouba has been over this in each of the past two games. With an offense as dynamic as the Oilers, Trouba should have plenty of opportunities to get over this number.

Current record: 11-6

Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $36 on the season

Tonight’s game will be on ESPN+ and Hulu.