Rangers down Oilers 4-2.

By Jon Gabrielle

Three consecutive power play goals on the road…and all of a sudden your offense is no longer struggling.

Ranger backup Stephen Valiquette(photo by cdnuniguy/photobucket)

So says the scoreboard, a 4-2 win, and so say the Rangers. “We just found a way to score a couple of goals tonight,” head coach John Tortorella exclaimed.

“We didn’t pass up shots,” said Chris Higgins, who potted his second goal in two nights. Higgins and Callahan both made turnstiles of Oiler defensemen in the early going earning the praise of their coach, “I thought our forecheck was much better.”

While the Rangers were busy praising their effort, the Oilers were lambasting theirs.

Pat Quinn’s take was decidely different, stating, “we took offensive-zone holding and hooking penalties, and that shows you’re not going to compete on a physical basis.”

Edmonton forward, Patrick O’Sullivan chimed in, “any time you take penalties in the offensive zone, those are the ones that seem to wind up in your net.”

A tale of two perspectives. Perhaps, like stories, the truth lie somewhere in the middle?

The Rangers offense was considerably better, as well as their forecheck. But as Tortorella would say, “the power play helped us tonight.” They went 3 for 7 with the man advantage yet managed only one 5 on 5 marker. Can they expect their power play to operate at nearly 40% efficiency on a consistent basis?

Therein lies the rub for the Rangers as they try and develop Tortorella’s identity. “A wins a win,” as the cliche goes…but one even strength goal is still a pattern that can’t make the sometimes surly coach happy.

A definite work in progress, as Tortorella surely would be the first to admit, that his system of attack and pursue is still in it’s rudimentary stages with this group.

Defensively, what can you say about the continued success of Del Zotto and Gilroy. They continue to play the man, clear the puck and kill penalties. Without question two of the biggest and brightest surprises of the young season.

Stephen Valiquette also proved that on most nights, when called upon, he is quite capable of making the timely stop. Although not tested often, he made some big saves, most notably in the first period when he stoned Ales Hemsky, the former first round pick and Czech Republic native, from his doorstep to preserve a 1-0 Ranger lead.