Quick makes 29 saves, Rangers blank Oilers for 3rd straight win

EDMONTON -- Jonathan Quick made 29 saves for his first shutout with the New York Rangers, a 3-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.

Quick signed a one-year contract with New York on July 1.

“We got the win, right? So, that’s first and foremost,” Quick said. “We’re playing the right way. We’re keeping the puck, we’re keeping their team in front of our [defensemen] and making them come through five guys in order to get a chance.

“If you consistently do that, it’s a good recipe for winning games. Against a team as potent as they are, held to two power plays and how well we did on the [penalty kill] definitely contributes to the win.”

Braden Schneider and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist, and Alexis Lafrenière scored in his third straight game for the Rangers (5-2-0), who have won three in a row. Artemi Panarin had two assists to extend his season-opening point streak to seven games (three goals, seven assists).

Stuart Skinner made 29 saves for the Oilers (1-5-1), who have lost four in a row. Edmonton, which played without Connor McDavid for the second straight game (upper-body injury), will face the Calgary Flames next in the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, TBS, Max)..

“At the end of the day, it is just not good enough,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “But it is Game 7, we don’t have time to hang our heads here or get frustrated and go ‘woe is me.’ “It is time right now. No matter what we have done in the past, it is about right now and looking forward to Sunday.”

After a scoreless first period, Adam Fox gave New York a 1-0 lead on the power play 3:32 into the second with a slap shot from the left face-off circle over the shoulder of Skinner.

Schneider made it 2-0 at 12:03 when he crossed the blue line to a waiting puck set up by Jimmy Vesey and sent a long snap shot over Skinner’s extended blocker.

Lafreniere extended it to 3-0 at 18:09 on a one-timer from the right circle on an assist from Panarin.

Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers' leading scorer, was held to three shots on goal.

“Whether McDavid’s in there or not, they’re still a great team and they have a lot of offensive flair,” Schneider said. “It’s a huge two points for us; [Draisaitl] is an elite player. Holding him to three shots is a huge win and I think our team played a great defensive game, and ‘Quicky’ made some unbelievable saves.

“He’s an unbelievable teammate. He’s talking to everyone, he’s involved in everything, I can’t say enough good things about him. The way he is at the rink, he competes hard, he’s just an unbelievable person and an even better hockey player and I’m very glad that we have him on our team.”

Quick made a glove save on Edmonton’s best chance of the game midway through the third period, a point-blank shot alone in front by Zach Hyman.

“We had a lull for two periods,” Hyman said. “It can’t happen, obviously. It is not who we are. It just wasn’t a level of work ethic that dictates play. It is not just one guy off to a poor start, it is collectively as a group. We are an offensive team and we scored zero goals today.

“A lot of the blame has been on our [defensive] zone or our defensive system, or our defense, but we didn’t score anything today. There is no finger-pointing. Everybody in the room has to take a step and elevate their game like we know we can.”

Quick improved to 25-11-6 all-time against Edmonton.

“Things like that always factor into it, and his career numbers versus Edmonton are really good and strong,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said of the decision to start Quick. “And he’s coming off a pretty good performance as well.

“They had a lot of chances in the second period and Quicky played really well for us. I thought we could have had three more in the second. There were a lot of looks and posts in that period where I thought there was opportunity for us.”

NOTES: Charlie Huddy and Doug Weight were inducted into the Oilers Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony. Huddy is one of seven players to be part of all five of Edmonton’s Stanley Cup championships. … The Oilers have scored one third-period goal in seven games this season. … Quick’s shutout was his 59th in the NHL, passing former Rangers goalie John Ross Roach (58) and tying Evgeni Nabokov for 20th in League history.