3 least impressive New York Rangers players from 2-0 shutout loss to Edmonton Oilers ft. Urho Vaakanainen

The New York Rangers suffered their third shutout loss at home this season. The Blue Shirts were on the wrong end of a 2-0 blanking at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

Trent Frederic scored the game-winner for the Oilers in the second period, with Adam Henrique adding an empty-netter late in the third period. Stuart Skinner made 30 saves for the clean sheet.

Meanwhile, New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin stopped 20 of 21 shots. His teammates, however, were unable to pick him up. The club squandered another solid outing by their starting goalie.

So, here’s a look at the three least impressive New York Rangers players from their shutout loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

3 least impressive New York Rangers players from shutout loss to Edmonton Oilers

#3 J.T. Miller

The New York Rangers captain played well enough on the night. However, he was unable to lead his club to at least tying the game. Shesterkin kept the team in the game, but the offense just couldn’t pick him up.

That’s when a top-flight player like Miller must step up to carry his team. He didn’t, and the Rangers fell to a painful loss at home.

Miller ended the night with 22:20 of ice time across 23 shifts and two shots on goal. He registered a minus-1 on the night.

#2 Braden Schneider

The New York Rangers made one crucial mistake on the night. That mistake was enough to sentence them to a loss.

Said mistake occurred at the 9:40 mark of the second period. The Rangers attempted to dump the puck into the Oilers’ zone. Braden Schneider stood by at center ice as his partner, Urho Vaakanainen, lobbed the puck into the offensive zone.

However, the Oilers came back with Frederic breaking through behind the play. Meanwhile, Schneider stood puck-watching.

Here’s a look at the goal:

Schneider was far too late to react to the play, allowing Frederic to bust through and beat Shesterkin for the goal. He ended the night playing 16:42 over 21 shifts. Schneider got two shots on goal, three blocks, and a minus-1 rating.

#1 Urho Vaakanainen

Urho Vaakanainen gets the dubious distinction of being the least impressive player in this game, as his role led to the Frederic goal. The replay showed his dump-in head straight to the Oilers players.

As Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen made the stretch pass to Frederic, Vaakanainen was caught out of position. He tried to correct the path, but just couldn’t get on the right side of the play. Frederic made short work of Vaakanainen and beat Shesterkin for what would be the game-winner.

The New York Rangers will be back on the ice on Thursday night as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama

Edited by Nestor Quixtan