Oilers vs. Rangers Preview: McDavid's 14-Game Point Streak and a 6-0-0 Road Record Hit MSG

Something has to give at Madison Square Garden. The Edmonton Oilers have not lost a road game all season (6-0-0). The New York Rangers have lost exactly once at home (6-1-0). One of those records takes a dent on Sunday night, and Connor McDavid is arriving with a streak that keeps finding new parts of the record book to rewrite.

The Oilers (10-2-2) visit the Rangers (7-6-1) at 6 p.m. ET Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York. It is the second half of a back-to-back for Edmonton, which beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, while the Rangers have not played since a 6-3 home loss to Los Angeles on Monday.

The Stakes: A Road Juggernaut vs. a Home Team Looking for a Reset

Edmonton is 5-1-1 over its last seven games and, per the Oilers' website, is the fifth team since 2014-15 to win each of its first six road games of a season. Tristan Jarry has posted back-to-back shutouts, and the Oilers roll into the second stop of a three-game road trip playing like a team that has stopped worrying about anybody else.

The Rangers need a reset. Their 15 points rank fifth in the Metropolitan Division, and they have lost three straight: 5-4 in Toronto, 7-4 in Ottawa and that 6-3 defeat to the Kings, the first home loss of their season. They have also been playing without Igor Shesterkin, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 9, per NHL.com. Five straight days without a game is either exactly what this group needed or a long time to stew.

The Matchup: McDavid vs. Everyone, and Two Goalie Questions

McDavid leads the NHL with 37 points (eight goals, 29 assists). He has a point in all 14 games this season, three shy of the 17-game season-opening run he put together in 2021-22, per the Oilers, and his 14-game season-opening assist streak is an NHL record, per the AP. His 23 primary assists are more than double anyone else's; Rangers defenseman Adam Fox is tied for next with 10, per the Oilers' notes. That makes Fox, who leads New York with 16 assists and 17 points, the most interesting player on the other side of this matchup.

"It's been a lot of fun to watch and he's not going to slow down, for sure," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of McDavid after Saturday's win.

Then there is the crease. NHL.com reports that Matt Tomkins, not Jarry, is expected to start, which would be his first start for the Oilers and his first NHL game since April 17, 2024. That is a big ask on the second night of a back-to-back against a rested team. On the other end, NHL.com projects Dylan Garand, who has a 2.69 goals-against average and a shutout this season, to start for New York.

Players to Watch

• Connor McDavid, Oilers C: See above. Every shift is a highlight waiting to happen, and Fox's group will be chasing him all night.
• Leon Draisaitl, Oilers F: Leads Edmonton with 12 goals and joined McDavid as the only players in the NHL to reach 25 points this October, per the club. NHL.com projects him on McDavid's right wing.
• Alexis Lafreniere, Rangers F: New York's goals leader with nine, including a hat trick against the Islanders on Oct. 6.
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers F: Scored twice Saturday and has three goals in five games since making his season debut Oct. 22.

Team News

Isaac Howard left Saturday's game 2:22 in after a collision and is listed as out by ESPN. "We don't think it's as serious as it looked," coach Mike Babcock said Saturday. NHL.com reports Filip Hallander would likely play if Howard cannot. Zach Hyman (neck) and Devon Levi are on injured reserve, per ESPN.

For the Rangers, defensemen Sean Durzi and Braden Schneider missed practice Saturday, but coach Mike Sullivan said both are day to day and did not rule them out, per NHL.com. The Rangers recalled Matthew Robertson from Hartford in case one of them cannot go. Joonas Korpisalo practiced Friday for the first time in the regular season, per NHL.com, though he is not in the projected lineup.

By the Numbers

• DraftKings lists the Rangers at -125 on the moneyline (Edmonton +105) with a total of 6.5, via ESPN, as of Saturday. Edmonton, with the better record, is the underdog.
• Edmonton: 6-0-0 on the road. New York: 6-1-0 at home.
• McDavid: 37 points through 14 games, with a point in every one.
• Jarry has two shutouts this season, both in his last two starts.
• This is the first of two meetings in a span of nine days; the rematch is Nov. 10 in Edmonton.

Our Pick

Our pick: Oilers 4-3. The Rangers have the situational edges here, from rest to the goalie matchup, and they badly need a win in front of their own fans. But McDavid and Draisaitl are playing a different sport right now, the Oilers have won every road game they have played, and New York has allowed at least five goals in each of its last three. Tomkins does not need to be perfect. He needs to be fine, and Edmonton's top line does the rest.

Odds from DraftKings via ESPN as of Oct. 31. Standings, injury listings and season stats from ESPN; record and streak notes from the AP and the Oilers' official site. Projected lineups and injury notes from NHL.com. Quotes from the Oilers' official site.