EDMONTON – Alain Vigneault will never forget his 1,000th NHL game, but he will want to.
The Rangers were an absolute disaster away from the puck and in the defensive zone of a 7-5 loss to the Oilers on Friday night, forcing a confounded Vigneault to pull a jittery and undone Henrik Lundqvist from his net for just the second time all season 2:40 into the third period.
The Blueshirts (18-9-3, 39 points) recovered from a 3-1 deficit after one period to tie the game at three apiece after two. They even erased a 5-3 deficit after Lundqvist was yanked to tie the game on Rick Nash’s power play goal at 18:14 of the third.