Rangers Flop Amidst Celebration

Friday night was a night to remember for almost everyone in Edmonton, except for the New York Rangers players.

It all began with an elaborate and wonderful ceremony for Glen Sather, the architect of the Edmonton Oilers’ dynasty of five Stanley Cup championships. Now the president of the Rangers, Sather had his banner raised to the rafters; Sather also received a painting of himself alongside all of the great players and staff he worked with as a gift from the Oilers. Even the commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, showed up to speak on Sather’s behalf. (Bettman, almost to his excitement, was booed loudly by the Oilers fans, allowing him to win a bet with Sather , who wagered the crowd would surely cheer him.)

The night also marked Alain Vigneault’s 1,000th career game as a head coach; a milestone only reached by 22 other NHL head coaches. Vigneault’s 538-349-112 record means he had the second most wins ever by a coach when reaching the 1,000 game mark. Only Scotty Bowman had more.
Fortunately for the fans in Edmonton, and unfortunately for Vigneault, the game lived up to expectations, though not in the Rangers favor. It was a wild affair in which the Rangers trailed by two goals twice (in the second period it was 3-1 Edmonton and in the third period it was 5-3) and both time the Rangers came back only to let the Oilers score two goals in quick succession afterwards.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that former Ranger Lauri Korpikoski netted a hat trick in the Oilers win.

The Rangers continued their western Canada road trip in Calgary on Saturday night falling behind 4-1 in the third period before rallying for three goals to tie the game. Despite the spirited effort they still lost in overtime capping off a three loss trip to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.