Western Conference, but Green also points to a c

NEW YORK — In recent weeks Valtteri Filppula Jersey Womens , the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers were playing reasonably well. Then they encountered nightmares in defending Thursday and gave up seven goals on rinks separated by more than 500 miles.While the Rangers were struggling to prevent the rival New York Islanders from scoring in Brooklyn, the Panthers were experiencing the same problems against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.Both teams will be hoping to rebound from difficult games Saturday night when the Rangers host the Panthers.Article continues below ...The teams met Oct. 23 in New York when Mika Zibanejad scored twice and had two assists in a 5-2 Rangers win. Since then, both are decent runs despite the ugly showings Thursday.Since the last meeting, the Rangers are 6-3-2 in their last 11 games and the Panthers are 6-3 in their last nine games.The Rangers gained a point in seven straight games (6-0-1) before absorbing a 7-5 loss to the New York Islanders. The Panthers outscored opponents 19-6 during a five-game winning streak before it crashed to a halt with a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jackets.Besides allowing seven goals, both teams played similar games.The Rangers scored the first two goals in a span of 35 seconds, gave up the next three, tied the game before allowing three more.Florida scored the first goals, allowed the next three, tied it and gave up four in the third period.It was the type of loss that led coach David Quinn to describe his team as being “soft around the net,” especially after allowing three goals via tap-ins.“That’s Hockey 101,” Quinn said after the Rangers allowed seven goals for the second time this season. “That’s stuff you learn in squirts and peewees and the simple fact was we didn’t pick sticks up.“They just scored way too easily tonight and that’s something that we haven’t been doing, so it’s unfortunate.“Obviously, we got off to a good start and we couldn’t ride the momentum because we just didn’t do the most simplistic of things Fredrik Claesson Jersey Womens , which is when you’re standing next to someone, you’ve got to pick their stick up.”Meanwhile in Columbus, Panthers coach Bob Boughner chalked it to up to one of those bad nights.“We just didn’t have it tonight,” Boughner said. “Give Columbus credit, we just didn’t get it done. Like I said, I think that we’re disappointed. We had an opportunity that slipped away a little bit.”Despite the poor defensive showings, both teams have players on decent rolls of late.Chris Kreider scored twice Thursday for the Rangers and six of his team-leading 10 goals are in the last eight games. Kevin Hayes also scored a short-handed goal for the Rangers, giving him two goals and seven assists in the last eight games.Mike Hoffman had an assist Thursday in Columbus and his 14-game points streak broke the team record set by Pavel Bure in 1999-00. Hoffman set up a first-period goal to Aaron Ekblad and has seven goals and nine assists during the run.“It’d be a little better if we could celebrate tonight,” Hoffman said. “But we’ll have to wait for another point for that.”Also, Florida’s offense is performing at its best clip in team history, averaging 3.19 goals per game and converting 23.2 percent of its power plays. The Panthers scored twice on the man advantage Thursday and are 9 of 24 on power plays in the last six games.New York may have a new player in the lineup after obtaining Ryan Strome from Edmonton for Ryan Spooner. Strome was obtained Friday afternoon and it’s possible he may be available Saturday.The Rangers are 12-2-3 in the last 17 meetings with the Panthers. After a strong start under new coach Ken Hitchcock, the Edmonton Oilers are proving to be a work in progress.With the league’s Christmas break in the rearview mirror, the Oilers have to figure out how to squeeze more production out of every player Dylan DeMelo Jersey Womens , starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place.In the first 3 1/2 weeks under Hitchcock, Edmonton (18-15-3) picked up 20 of a possible 26 points, but the Oilers slumped recently.With a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, the Oilers have been outscored 14-6 during a three-game skid. The club also surrendered five power-play goals during that span, including three in a 4-2 loss at Vancouver on Dec. 16.Article continues below ...Lack of consistent production from players other than Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Alex Chiasson combined with injuries to defensemen Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell have contributed to Edmonton’s slide.“We’re going to have to figure out who’s helping and who’s hurting for us to get to another level,” Hitchcock said. “We can’t keep doing it the same way over and over because it’s not going to work.”One core player — and a Stanley Cup winner — believes the team needs to show more mental toughness.“This group has to learn how to play in close games,” said Chiasson, who won a championship with the Washington Capitals last summer before joining the Oilers in October. “If you want to be a playoff team, a team that has the chance to go deep, you have to learn how to play down one goal and stick with it for 60 minutes.”Chiasson is third on the team with a career-best 16 goals, including four in his last five games.Edmonton has won four straight and is 6-0-1 in its last seven at home against the Canucks.Vancouver (17-18-4) kicks off a six-game road trip looking to continue its strong play away from home. After six consecutive road losses in November Gabriel Gagne Jersey Womens , the Canucks went 3-0-1, including a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and a point against the Nashville Predators.Travis Green’s team comes off a 1-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. After his team took three of five on the homestand, Green offered praise.“I like the way our team is progressing. I like the way they are playing. I wish we had a few more wins, I think we easily could,” he told the team’s official website.Vancouver is 10th in the Western Conference, but Green also points to a culture change for a club long linked to now-retired twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin and that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2013.“We’re still young in a lot of areas. Sometimes that shows. We’re in it right now. We’re playing to win,” Green said. “Our guys are believing in themselves. We talk about playing fast and hard and playing with confidence, and they are.” The team features young stars in Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat, who has scored 12 of his 17 goals this season on the road.However, rookie Elias Petterson may be the best of the bunch.The 20-year-old winger has points in eight of 11 games this month, including his second five-point effort on Dec. 9 in a rout of the St. Louis Blues.Petterson leads all rookies in goals (17) and assists (19). No other first-year player has more than 23 points.One of Petterson’s five game-winning goals came against the Oilers this month.