For two periods, it looked like more of the same from the New York Rangers. A bad second period put them behind the Edmonton Oilers 3-1.

Following an early breakaway goal scored by Jonny Brodzinski, the Rangers had allowed three straight goals to the Oilers. That included a pair of goals from Darnell Nurse. Both of which Igor Shesterkin should’ve had, with the latter needing a video review during a stoppage to prove that the puck crossed the goal line to make it 3-1 in the second period.

At that point, it felt like another loss was inevitable. Even on a night that Connor McDavid was held in check by Mika Zibanejad and the strong work of Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox.

More agonizing g was that coach Mike Sullivan didn’t deviate from the lines that hadn’t accomplished anything. Conor Sheary looked like he’d remain with J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafreniere, who was more involved offensively. Miller couldn’t steer in a perfect Lafreniere feed on a power play. The kind Chris Kreider used to bury in his sleep.

There wasn’t much going on. Nothing to indicate a big third period was on the way that changed the outcome. Instead of continuing to roll the same lines that weren’t getting it done, Sullivan finally made the changes necessary that were instrumental in a 4-3 comeback win over the Oilers in overtime.

Miller completed the turnaround when he walked in and beat Stuart Skinner at 2:49 in extras. It was his first goal in five games. He desperately needed it.

“The third period was great,” Miller said after the Rangers responded with goals from Braden Schneider and Taylor Raddysh to tie the game. “I didn’t have my best today. Obviously, changed the lines up a little bit, trying to spark something. We just had so many guys contribute. [Noah Laba] was unbelievable today. You see Rads chip in again, Schneids. We need that throughout the course of the season, you know what I mean? You have that depth scoring, and they played a heck of a game and drove play for us today and made it easy for the next line going out there.”

At the start of the third period with the Rangers trailing the Oilers by two goals, Sullivan decided to make necessary adjustments to his top two lines. With Miller continuing to struggle, he was moved onto a line with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin. By loading up the top line, that allowed Sullivan to form a new second line – featuring Noah Laba, Will Cuylle, and Lafreniere.

It was the Laba line that injected much needed life into the team. Their first shift was spent cycling the puck for extended time in the Edmonton zone. Although there weren’t any shots on Skinner, it was the kind of diligent work that the Rangers had lacked. The momentum swung afterward.

On a good play in the neutral zone from Urho Vaakanainen, Cuylle picked up a loose puck and drove to the net, forcing Skinner into a difficult save that led to Schneider putting in the rebound that cut the deficit to 3-2 at 8:18.

The strong play from Cuylle created the goal. He did the dirty work that resulted in Schneider getting his first of the season. That made it three games in a row with an assist for Cuylle. He set up Zibanejad’s game-winner at Vancouver on Tuesday night.

Before they tied the game, Shesterkin made his biggest save by making a strong denial on a Leon Draisaitl bid in close. That clutch stop was the one the Rangers needed. It came at a crucial time. There were less than 10 minutes left in regulation. Had Draisaitl scored, it would’ve been very tough for an offensively challenged team like the Rangers to come back.

Just over a minute and a half later, Sheary made a good play at the Edmonton blue line to lead Raddysh for the game-tying goal with 7:56 remaining. On what was a bit of a broken play, Sheary took away a loose puck and made a subtle pass for Raddysh, who entered untouched before beating Skinner from the slot with a wrist shot that tied the score.

Due to the Sullivan’s shuffled lines, Juuso Parssinen shifted to center Sheary and Raddysh. It worked out well, with Raddysh getting his team-leading fifth. A surprising number for a player who’s only reached 20 once in his career. That came with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022-23. So far, Raddysh has proven to be a good addition. He’s provided secondary scoring and strong penalty killing.

The only line that remained the same was the checking unit, with Brodzinski playing with Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom. Carrick played a key role late in regulation with Zibanejad off for high-sticking Jack Roslovic to put the dangerous Oilers on the power play with 41 seconds left.

Following a Shesterkin save on Draisaitl, Carrick sold out to guarantee the Rangers a point. He made a great defensive play by breaking up a pass and clearing the zone. That sent it to overtime.

Despite the Oilers’ foursome of McDavid, Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins still having 1:19 to work with on a four-on-three, they only managed to get one shot through.

A great effort from the Rangers’ penalty killing trio of Miller, Gavrikov, and Will Borgen prevented Edmonton from winning it. Shesterkin made one stop on McDavid, who had another attempt blocked by a diving Borgen.

After another save from Shesterkin on McDavid to get a faceoff, it was back to three-on-three. Following a stop on Vasily Podkolzin, Lafreniere decided to reset in his own zone. After Lafreniere handed off for Schneider, he made a simple pass for Miller, who did the rest.

With Edmonton sitting back, Miller took advantage of a passive Draisaitl and Bouchard to win the game. Neither Oilers skater even defended him. It became essentially a one on one with Skinner, allowing Miller to come in and beat the Edmonton goalie to complete the 4-3 come from behind overtime win.

“When you have guys like Brodzinski stepping up today and scoring the first goal, you just need guys like that. It was a true team effort today, those guys really helped drag us into the fight,” Miller added.

That was a true team effort. When they had their looks, [Igor Shesterkin] played awesome today. That’s just a big team win, something that we can really build on going forward.”