EDMONTON, Alberta — The way things have been going for the Rangers this season, a two-goal deficit in the third period against the star-studded Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night seemed insurmountable.
But it turned out not to be.
Goals by Braden Schneider and the surprising Taylor Raddysh got the Rangers back into the game. A heroic penalty kill at the end of regulation and the start of overtime kept them in it. And finally, J.T. Miller, who has struggled as much as anyone to put the puck in the net, scored the biggest goal of the game when he beat goaltender Stuart Skinner at 2:49 of overtime to give the Rangers a 4-3 victory, their second straight win.
“I’m not gonna lie, I don’t have the confidence now,’’ Miller said with a smile when asked if he knew as soon as he got the puck that he’d drive to the net. “I wasn’t the most positive thinking. I just was trying to get it to the net. I passed up a couple shots earlier that I shouldn’t have. So sometimes they go, sometimes they don’t.’’
This one went, and it could have a significant positive effect on a team that has improved its defense but has had the hardest time trying to score.
“Oh, I think it’s a huge boost of confidence,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said of the manner in which the Rangers (5-5-2) rallied for the victory. “It’s great that J.T. scored. It’s a heck of a goal in overtime. I thought the penalty kill was terrific, obviously, to give ourselves a chance against a really dangerous power play. And so I think to come back the way we did in that fashion is a huge boost of confidence for the group.
“We’ve got a long way to go. We know that,’’ Sullivan said. “But . . . there’s a lot of good that we can take from this game.’’
With his team trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Sullivan put his three biggest offensive names — Artemi Panarin, Miller and Mika Zibanejad — together on a line in an attempt to generate some scoring chances.
“I just felt like our guys needed a spark, and we’ve been talking for a couple of games [about] loading up one line with our three studs, so to speak,’’ Sullivan said. “Given the fact that it’s been a little bit of a struggle for them to put the puck in the net, we felt maybe if we put them together, maybe that’ll give them a shot.
“The irony of it is that all the other lines scored,’’ he said with a laugh.
Will Cuylle, skating with Noah Laba and Alexis Lafreniere, drove to the net and got a shot off at Skinner (30 saves) that forced a rebound that Schneider put in at 8:18 to get the comeback started.
Raddysh, signed as a free agent over the summer by general manager Chris Drury to add grit and size to the third line, tied it at 3-3 at 12:04 with his fifth goal of the season. He leads the team in that department.
The Oilers nearly re-took the lead a minute later when one-time Ranger Jack Roslovic had a chance by the right post. Igor Shesterkin, who made 33 saves, slid across and got his pads over in time to make the save, helping to get the game to overtime.
The penalty kill also had to do its part after Zibanejad was called for high-sticking Roslovic with 40.9 seconds left in regulation. They did enough to get the game to overtime to guarantee a point but still had to kill 1:19 of four-on-three power-play time to give themselves a chance to earn two points.
“It’s never fun when you’re short on a four-on-three,’’ said Raddysh, who watched from the bench. “But those guys did a great job.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.