EDMONTON — Western Canada hasn’t been kind to the New York Rangers in the last 12 months, with the latest trip threatening to turn into another nightmare.

Last year’s Nov. 23 loss at Rogers Place prompted a frustrated Chris Drury to solicit trade offers from the NHL’s other 31 general managers, a miscalculation that blew up in the team president’s face and ultimately tanked the Rangers’ season. But they returned to the scene of the crime on Thursday and exorcised their demons.

Trailing by two entering the third period, New York rallied for a 4-3 overtime win over the two-time defending Western Conference champion Oilers. J.T. Miller netted the winner on a hard drive to the net 2:49 into the extra frame, giving the Rangers (5-5-2) something to feel good about at the end of an opening month in which very little seemed to go their way.

“We needed that to build some confidence, see some pucks go in,” the captain said. “Hopefully that can propel us to keep this thing going a little bit more into this road trip. We have a good chance to finish it off the right way.”

Miller’s big moment came on a night when he bluntly said, “I didn’t have my best.” The same can be said for the other veteran forwards the Rangers rely on drive an offense that’s been largely disappointing, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. None of them registered a point until Miller’s OT tally, but it was a group of unlikely contributors who got them there.

Jonny Brodzinski, Braden Schneider and Taylor Raddysh provided the scoring in the regulation, with the latter two notching third-period goals within 3:46 of each other to fuel the comeback.

“It’s awesome, because I’m certainly not filling the net,” said Miller, who was able to laugh about it after the fact. “You need guys like that to step up. It’s just part of the gig, and it’s a long season. I know mine are going to go in at some point. I know that Mika would tell you the same thing, or (Panarin). They’re going to go in. We just have to keep playing the right way and try not to let the emotions get the better of us.”

Those emotions were brewing after the Rangers tripped all over themselves during a second-period power play. Mike Sullivan addressed it head on at intermission.

“I could sense that our top people that were on the power play were frustrated,” the coach said. “It kind of sucked the life out of our team there. We kind of lost our way for the rest of that period. I just talked to them about resetting their mindset. It doesn’t always go your way, and you’ve got to make sure that you dig in and you don’t become your own worst opponent by allowing your frustration to get the best of you.”

Part of that reset came in the form of shuffling the top-nine forwards. Sullivan decided to stack his top line with Panarin, Miller and Zibanejad, then elevate rookie center Noah Laba to play in between Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafrenière. Juuso Pärssinen moved to the middle on the third line with Conor Sheary and Raddysh.

“I just felt like our guys needed a spark,” Sullivan said. “We’ve been talking for a couple of games about loading up one line with our three studs, so to speak. Given the fact that it’s been a little bit of a struggle for them to put the puck in the net, we felt if we put them together, maybe that’ll give them a shot.

Then he smiled and added, “The irony of it is, all the other lines scored.”

Whether it was the line changes, the intermission message or a combination of both, the Rangers followed up a disjointed second period in which they were outshot 14-8 while surrendering goals to Matt Savoie and Darnell Nurse with a third in which they mostly dictated play. They out-attempted the Oilers 22-12 in the third period while generating four high-danger scoring chances and giving up only one, according to Natural Stat Trick. They also got a gut-check effort from their penalty kill following a late Zibanejad high-sticking penalty that bled into the first 1:20 of overtime.

Most importantly, they played with pace and urgency, showing the necessary fight to keep their season from spiraling down a similar path as last year. There will be no memos tonight.

“It’s just knowing that we’ve got that in us, and that we can play like that,” Schneider said. “We did a great job. I thought they took the second period, but to battle back and come out on top, I think, is massive for morale in the room.”

Eight more observations

1. Brodzinski scored the game’s first goal by making a heads-up defensive play to create his own breakaway. The 32-year-old veteran stepped up at the blue line to intercept a cross-ice pass from Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, then was off to the races. He finished with a backhand for his first goal of the season 5:44 into the game, which should serve as a reminder of why the Rangers value having him on the roster. Not only is Brodzinski one of the most popular players in the locker room, but he’s the ideal 13th forward because he can step into the lineup at a moment’s notice and give you a solid all-around effort. He skates well, defends hard, and rarely makes mistakes. He also has a little offensive juice when given the opportunity, as he showed Thursday.

2. Schneider cut the deficit to 3-2 at the 8:18 mark of the third by following a rush that was created by Cuylle winning a neutral-zone puck battle. He took it directly to the net, with Schneider right on time for the rebound. He scored with his parents in the stands, as they made their annual 300-plus mile trip from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. “It’s always good to come out with a win here,” said Schneider, smiling. “I’ll be excited to see them after.”

3. The Rangers team leader in goals? No other than Raddysh, who notched his fifth of the season to tie the score at 3-3 with 7:56 to go in regulation. “That was a missile,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we would expect the amount of offensive production from him, but he’s certainly capable.”

4. The Rangers’ fourth and final goal came from Miller, who made a decisive move to the net before finishing with the forehand. But the way he told it, he wasn’t feeling too confident in himself at the moment. “It wasn’t the most positive thinking,” he said. “I’m just trying to get it to the net. I passed up a couple shots earlier that I shouldn’t have.”

5. Miller’s uneven confidence stemmed, at least in part, from New York’s power play struggles. They went 0-for-2 Thursday, with Miller missing a prime chance on the first one. His redirect on a nice pass from Lafrenière went high over the Edmonton net, and by the time the Rangers’ second PP came around, they looked all out of sorts. They’re now 4-for-30 this season (13.3 percent), with Sullivan observing a snowball effect within recent games. “Our message to them is to make sure that we have a discipline to stay the course,” he said before the game. “I think sometimes, as the game goes on, if we get a couple of power plays and we don’t score, on the next one, we tend to want to play power play and not play hockey. And I think there’s a big difference.”

6. Some of the best scoring chances during New York’s two power plays came from the Oilers. Coach Kris Knoblauch — a familiar name for Rangers’ fans from his time behind the bench for AHL Hartford — teamed superstar forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as a penalty-kill duo. It was a wise tactical move that had the Rangers on their heels every time they came over the boards and led to a couple shorthanded rushes. Those dudes are scary, even at a four-on-five disadvantage.

7. Sullivan made some solid in-game decisions of his own, most notably the third-period line changes. Asked if those combinations would only be used situationally or if he’d consider sticking with them to start the next game, he said, “I would consider anything at this point.” We’ll find out Saturday night in Seattle against the Kraken.

8. Panarin turned 34 on Thursday, and while the win gave him reason to celebrate, it’s hard to imagine he’s feeling great about his play to start the season. He failed to record a point for the eighth time in 12 games and remains stuck on seven in total (two goals and five assists). Other than his four-point explosion in Montreal on Oct. 18, he’s looked far less dangerous than we’ve grown accustomed to, putting up only three points in the other 11 games. It makes you wonder what Drury is thinking as Panarin moves toward free agency next summer. I can’t see the Rangers re-upping him any time soon unless it’s an extremely team-friendly deal, which I haven’t gotten the impression he’s interested in. And while there’s a very long way to go until the Mar. 6 deadline, the longer this slump lasts, the harder it will be to rule out the possibility of a trade.