$56,000,000 NY Rangers forward highlights one specific shortcoming in 3-1 loss to Connor McDavid-led Oilers

The NY Rangers lost 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The Oilers, now 39-24-4, are second in the Pacific Division. They are four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and one ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.

Edmonton scored first, with Corey Perry scoring on a rebound 43 seconds into the first period. The Rangers tied the game in the second period when Will Cuylle scored at 5:00.

Viktor Arvidsson put the Oilers ahead early in the third period. Connor McDavid made it 3-1 at 16:35 of the third with a wrist shot. McDavid extended his point streak to 11 games, with three goals and 12 assists.

The Rangers, now 33-29-6, hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and five behind the Ottawa Senators. Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves after stopping 21 shots in a shutout win over Columbus on Saturday.

J.T. Miller, who is in the second year of his seven-year, $56,000,000 contract spoke about the team’s struggles after the game.

"We gave up one on the penalty kill, but I thought we killed pretty well. Power play—we had some looks, maybe could’ve gotten a couple more shots. That’s a heavy pressure penalty kill. We tried to shoot when we got a chance to, but the games are so tight. When you have the extra man, you’ve got to take advantage of it," Miller added.

The NY Rangers killed most penalties except for Perry’s power-play goal. Miller said the team had chances but needed more shots against Edmonton’s strong penalty kill.

The Rangers registered 22 shots on goals compared to Oilers 23 and they were close in the faceoffs with 48.9% chances.

Peter Laviolette praised NY Rangers' defense after Saturday's win

On Saturday, NY Rangers coach Peter Laviolette spoke after their 4-0 win over Columbus. Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 21 saves for his fifth shutout this season.

Laviolette felt the team started shaky but improved as the game went on.

"We started a little bit jumpy, but by the end of the first, I thought we were playing pretty well," Laviolette said. "And then the second and third were, I thought, outstanding. So that's, for me, three periods, three games in a row where I thought we defended well, defended hard, and it gives us a chance to be successful."

Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin each scored a goal, and Vincent Trocheck scored twice for the NY Rangers.