Rangers, Jonathan Quick too slick for Oilers in third straight victory

EDMONTON, Alberta — Facing the Edmonton Oilers without superstar Connor McDavid figured to make life a little bit easier for the Rangers. They probably didn’t expect it would be this easy.

Second-period goals by Adam Fox, Braden Schneider and Alexis Lafrenière put the Rangers in control and goaltender Jonathan Quick was sharp in turning away 29 shots to earn his second win of the season and 59th career shutout as the Rangers beat the reeling Oilers, 3-0, Thursday night at Rogers Place in the third game of their five-game trip.

“I don't really pay attention to the career numbers,’’ Quick said. “You know, coming in here, they're a great hockey team. You know it's going to be a challenge. You go anywhere on the road, that's going to be the case. So you just try to bring your best game, and help these guys get two points.’’

The Rangers (5-2) have won all three games of the trip so far, with stops remaining against Vancouver on Saturday and Winnipeg on Monday before they return home.

“I thought, [it was a] good effort, a much better effort tonight, from start to finish,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “A lot of guys played really well. The goaltender, Jonathan, played really well in net… There were a lot of saves that he had to make in the second period that were really, really big, and so it was really great performance by him. So, I think it was just good to come back and play a game that we're happy with the way we played.’’

The Oilers fell to 1-5-1 on the season, and 0-2 without McDavid, who is out with an upper-body injury.

“I feel like when teams are down, it's almost, the games are harder,’’ Schneider said. “You know they're having talks or whatever in their room, and they're coming out fiery. so I think it's a big win no matter what, whether McDavid was in or not.’’

Before the game, Laviolette said his team wouldn’t do anything differently despite not having to face McDavid, the NHL’s best player.

“We go about our business the same way,’’ Laviolette said. “Obviously, [McDavid's] an important player for them, so that is what it is. But for us it doesn't really change anything. We talk about offense, we talk about defense, prepare our power play, penalty kill. I think the changes that maybe come into play [with McDavid out] is that you know, he's not in certain situations, and now somebody else is. And so, we kind of coach around it that way. But you know, our business is our business.’’

One thing Laviolette did change was starting Quick instead of his No. 1 goaltender, Igor Shesterkin. Quick has won three Stanley Cups and he has the  most career shutouts of any American-born goaltender. His 377 wins are second-most, behind Ryan Miller’s 391. But the Connecticut native and former Los Angeles Kings star signed a one-year, $825,000 deal with the Rangers over the summer to serve as the backup to Shesterkin.

He didn’t look very good in the preseason, going 0-3, with a 5.07 goals-against average and .807 save percentage. But he stopped all nine shots he saw in his first appearance in the regular season, in relief of Shesterkin, and then seemed to get stronger as the game went along in his first start, Saturday in Seattle, won by the Rangers, 4-1. Entering Thursday night, he led the NHL in goals-against average (0.70) and save percentage (.964).

And Laviolette decided to start him against the Oilers, against whom he had a 24-11-6 record in his career, with a 2.18 GAA and .920 save percentage.

The Rangers outshot Edmonton, 10-5 in the first period, but Quick made some solid saves and seemed to get into a rhythm. And while the Rangers scored three goals in the second, they still needed Quick to make some high-quality saves to keep the Oilers off the board.

The Rangers scored their first goal at 3:32 of the second on a power play, with Warren Foegele in the box for high-sticking Lafrenière. Fox connected on a one-timer from just below the left wing faceoff dot, off a cross-ice pass from Vincent Trocheck.

Schneider, whose parents made the drive from Saskatchewan to see him play, made it 2-0 at 12:03 of the period when he joined the rush late, took a pass from Jimmy Vesey, and roofed a long-range shot into the top corner, over goalie Stuart Skinner’s right shoulder, for his first goal of the season.

Lafrenière made it 3-0 at 18:09 when he one-timed home a cross-ice pass from Artemi Panarin from around the right wing faceoff dot for his fourth goal of the season.

An apparent goal by rookie Will Cuylle, which would have made it 4-0, with 6:30 left in the third period, was overturned after video review, with the Toronto situation room ruling that Cuylle had kicked in Blake Wheeler’s pass.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

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.