The Oilers had a serious chance at defeating the Rangers on Thursday night. Unfortunately, they gave up the lead on three separate occasions en route to a 5-3 loss at MSG. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the party started with a power play goal (!) six minutes into the first period. Patrick Maroon put the Oilers up 2-1 midway through the second period. After 40 minutes, both clubs were tied at 2. Adam Larsson scored his first of the year midway through the third to give the Oilers the lead. Fun lasted about 45 seconds as Rangers forward Jesper Fast scored his first of the year. Rick Nash would put the Rangers up for good as he out-muscled Milan Lucic in front of the net with just 90 seconds remaining in regulation time. The Rangers would add an empty-netter to seal the deal, and the Oilers are 0-2-1 after winning seven of their first eight.
Can the Oilers get back on the wagon tonight in Brooklyn? Let's go to the tape.
The Oilers are saying
"I'm feeling better every game...My skating is feeling better and everything after that is feeling better."
That's Jesse Puljujarvi on getting a promotion to the second line with Neon Leon.
Puljujarvi will appear in his tenth game for the Oilers tonight, signaling the beginning of his entry-level deal.
The opponents are saying
"We have to find a way to get some balanced offense on our hockey team." Source
That's Islanders head coach Jack Capuano after his team's 3-2 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Thursday.
The Islanders have struggled to find consistency so far in 2016-17. How much is going to get blamed on wonky Barclays Center ice remains to be seen, but the Islanders rank just 17th overall in goals scored in the league.
Have some of this
POWERPLAY PAYDIRT: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a power play goal in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Rangers. That's good. Not good? Oilers' overall power play ranks 20th overall. Where are the sharks with the frickin' laser beams on their heads?
SWITCH 'EM UP: Lucic gets moved off the top line for Patrick Maroon, while Jesse Puljujarvi lines up with Benoit Pouliot and RNH.
Connor McDavid picked up his eighth assist on the season on a sweet kick-pass on RNH's power play goal. Seriously, go get an ice cream sandwich and watch this.
Really thought we'd get a look at Anton Slepyshev last game, but it looks like the fourth line is going to stay intact, at least for the time being. The fourth line is the only line to remain untouched in the recent line shuffle.
Cam Talbot (7-3-1, .927 SV% / 2.31 GAA, 2 SO) is likely to start his twelfth straight for the Oilers today. Jaroslav Halak (2-3-1, .908 SV% / 2.94 GAA) will go for the Islanders.
Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Drake Caggiula (hip), Mark Fayne (undisclosed) Brandon Davidson (upper body) and Matt Hendricks (lower body) will not dress for the Oilers tonight. The Islanders will be without forward Mathew Barzal (illness), defenceman Ryan Pulock (lower body). Mikhail Grabovski is out with a concussion.
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