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Rangers @ Oilers Game 75 Preview

Keys To Victory: Ben Scrivens

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Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports


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41-30-4, 1.146 p/g Ranks 25-38-9, .808 p/g
Eastern Conference, 5th Western Conference: 14th
13th P/G 29th
3rd ST 26th
12th ES 29th
6th Goal 28th
6 PM MDT - TSN
Rexall Place
The opposing view: Blueshirt Banter


Philip Larsen:  Powered By Guacamole

The Ducks put 51 shots on Ben Scrivens.  Ben Scrivens turned aside 48 of them, and Andrew Ference (!) scored an OT goal to give the Oilers an improbable 4-3 victory against the second best team in the West.  Oh sure, Sam Gagner had a goal, and Jordan Eberle had a goal, and Oscar Klefbom scored his first career NHL goal as well, but the part of this brief summary that will need to stick with you is that Ben Scrivens turned aside another three thousand shots (okay, it was 48) to get the Oilers over the hump.  The Oilers were able to amass just 23 shots on goal, yet still found a way to squeak out a W.

Very much related:  Philip Larsen's Taco Night In Edmonton

The Oilers are saying

"Scrivens bailed us out a lot; it wasn't a complete game by us"

That's Oilers captain Andrew Ference referring to goaltender Ben Scrivens' play on Friday versus Anaheim.

Pop quiz, hotshots.  Which event was most troubling to you?

  • giving up 59 shots to the Sharks?
  • giving up 50 shots to the Kings?
  • or, is it giving up 51 shots to the Ducks?

If your answer was "all of the above", some facsimile to that, or "I can't believe we actually pay to watch this", then you're correct.  Ben Scrivens is the lifeguard on Oiler Beach right now, and he's watching over everyone with his .923 SV% in sixteen games with the Oilers.  That's a number that's probably quite a bit higher than what he'll post over the next two years, but like Ryan Smyth's chase for one more power play goal, Scrivens' over-achievement is sure fun to watch.

The Opponent is saying

"I think we can be better, and we'll have to be better because Edmonton just won a big game, (and ) is feeling good about themselves"
That's Rangers coach Alain Vigneault on his team needing to be better, because the Oilers "are feeling good about themselves".

Easy there, AV.  If Ben Scrivens wasn't there to turn aside 95% of everything that came at him, it'd be a lot less fun than you might think.  The Rangers are coming off a 4-3 loss to Calgary, and will no doubt be looking for a couple points to pad their playoff position.

Have some of this
  • Tonight is Edmonton's last game in a six game homestand before heading out to San Jose on Tuesday.  A win will give the Oilers four wins in six games.
  • The Rangers are looking to go with Cam Talbot in net.  Talbot (11-6-0, .937 SV%) has yielded just 32 goals in 19 games this season. The Oilers tend to have great success when a team plays a backup goalie this year, I'm sure everything will work out just fine.
  • Ryan Jones (knee) is out for the year.  Viktor Fasth (neck) and Nail Yakupov (ankle) are also out. Tyler Pitlick (knee) will play.  At my count, that's 11 F and 7 D.  Keep your eyes peeled to see if that changes.
The New York Rangers

Rick Nash - Derek Stepan - Daniel Carcillo

Carl Hagelin - Brad Richards - Martin St. Louis

Mats Zuccarello - Derick Brassard - Benoit Poulliot

Brian Boyle - Dominic Moore - Derek Dorsett

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi

Anton Stralman - Marc Staal

Raphael Diaz - Kevin Klein

Cam Talbot

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The Edmonton Oilers

Taylor Hall - Sam Gagner - David Perron

Anton Lander - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle

Matt Hendricks - Boyd Gordon - Tyler Pitlick

Luke Gazdic - Ryan Smyth

Martin Marincin - Jeff Petry

Oscar Klefbom - Andrew Ference

Mark Fraser - Justin Schultz

Philip Larsen

Ben Scrivens