Nov 9, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad (93) takes a shot in front of Edmonton Oilers forward Jason Dickenson (16) during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
In this day and age, it’s nearly impossible to keep Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers within striking distance for long, but that is exactly what the Rangers were able to do on Monday night. The problem was that they did little with the opportunities that were presented to them.
The Blueshirts went 0-for-5 on the power play in a 3-1 loss, including two subpar chances in the third period, in which they recorded zero shots on the first, then gave up an empty-netter on the second.
“I thought it was decent,” forward Tye Kartye said of the man advantage. “We created some chances. We gotta be on the same page all the time, and I thought we were for the most part. We were snapping it around the zone there, and when we move the puck well, we’re going to get chances. Then it’s just a matter of scoring.”
The Rangers are 4-for-their-last-26 on the power play in their last 10 games, as the right combination continues to elude head coach Mike Sullivan. Since their Nov. 1 loss to the Oilers at Madison Square Garden, Sullivan has shuffled up his man-advantage units and has even resorted to double-shifting star defenseman Adam Fox. It has done little to improve things, though, as New York is 2-for-its-last-13 during that stretch.
“We need to find a way to bear down and score some goals,” Rangers captain JT Miller said. “We’re just missing our timely goal… We had our looks, we had our chances, and had our tips, but their goalie played great. Sometimes you have to tip your cap. The power play continued to go in the right direction. I just have to find a way to bear down. We just have to find a way to bear down on the net a little more; we’re getting the looks and the tips and the secondary chances.”
Still, Sullivan is nowhere near suggesting that the power play is broken. He called Monday night’s effort in Edmonton “just one of those nights,” adding that his team needs to do “a better job generating more speed through the neutral zone that could have helped us on the entries.”
It sounds like they just need to see one go in the back of the net for things to get back on track. Fueled by these struggles, it’s no surprise that the Rangers have lost seven of their last 11 games.
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