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Rangers' turnaround stays on track

 
Published Nov. 11, 2017

NEW YORK — The Rangers have gone from an awful start to the hottest team in the NHL, using the man advantage to help them to a season-high sixth straight win Saturday.

New York scored two second-period power-play goals en route to a 4-2 victory against the Oilers as the Rangers won their fifth straight at Madison Square Garden.

"We went out there knowing that they are a penalty kill that is struggling," Kevin Shattenkirk said after he extended his point streak to seven games. "We just tried to expose them the best way that we could. We worked for each other to get in the spots that were open and made some good plays."

Rick Nash scored twice, Mats Zuccarello picked up two assists and Pavel Buchnevich had a goal for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves.

Jesse Puljujarvi and Connor McDavid each scored as the Oilers fell to the Rangers for the fourth consecutive time.

After a 3-7-2 start, the Rangers can look to a third-period rally Oct. 31 against the expansion Golden Knights as an early turning point. New York trailed 4-2 at the end of the second period and scored four unanswered goals to kick off its winning streak.

"The things we want to do have stayed the same," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "There's no doubt that we're executing better. With that execution, it doesn't lead to costly mistakes, and we've been able to build off that the last few games and play, for the most part, pretty good hockey."

Game highlights: Mike Hoffman scored two goals to help the Senators beat the Avalanche 4-3 for a sweep of their two games in Stockholm. Defenseman Erik Karlsson had two assists, giving the captain 17 points in 11 games this season. … Mitchell Marner and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist, and the Maple Leafs beat the host Bruins 4-1 to complete a sweep of a home-and-home series and win their fourth straight. The Bruins have lost four of five (1-3-1). … Jack Johnson scored in the ninth round of a shootout to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 victory over the host Red Wings. Columbus stopped a four-game losing streak and halted Detroit's run of shootout victories at 12. … Brandon Saad scored at 1:44 of overtime to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 victory over the host Hurricanes. Alex DeBrincat had two goals and Gustav Forsling also scored for Chicago, which rallied after falling behind 3-1. … Cory Schneider made 32 saves to help the host Devils top the Panthers 2-1. The Panthers have lost seven of 10. … Max Pacioretty scored at 3:08 of overtime to give the host Canadiens a 2-1 victory over the Sabres. … Jason Zucker scored his sixth goal in three games and Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves for his second straight shutout to give the Wild a 1-0 victory over the host Flyers. Zucker has scored Minnesota's past six goals.