EDMONTON, Alberta -- The New York Rangers proved that rest can sometimes be overrated.

Playing their second game in as many nights Sunday, the Rangers completed a season sweep of the Edmonton Oilers.

New York scored 1:20 after the opening faceoff and never looked back, posting a 3-1 decision at Rogers Arena 10 days after beating Edmonton 5-3 at Madison Square Garden.

Michael Grabner led the way Sunday with two goals for the Rangers, who won for the seventh time in eight games to improve to 12-4-0.

The Oilers, after starting out 4-1-0 in their new arena, fell to 4-4-0 at home and 9-6-1 overall as they head out for a three game Western road trip.

Dan Girardi also scored for the Rangers, while Andrej Sekera collected the Oilers' lone goal.

New York backup goalie Antti Raanta made 38 saves for the win, while Edmonton goaltender Cam Talbot stopped 24 shots.

"It's nice to play when the team is playing like that," Raanta said. "We had a tough game last night (a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames), and everybody knew that Edmonton was coming hard tonight.

"Everybody put everything that they had in their tanks, and it was a pretty hard-fought 60 minutes against that kind of team."

In addition to the fatigue factor, the Rangers had to deal with a couple of late scratches when left winger Chris Kreider and right winger Pavel Buchnevich both came up lame.

"We find out in the afternoon that (Kreider) wasn't going to be available for us, and then just after warmup, Pavel said that he couldn't go also, so we were down to 11 forwards and we had to grind it out and grease it out," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I thought we came out real well, moved the puck, got some quality opportunities and scored a couple of goals."

The Rangers went right to work putting Edmonton on its heels, with Grabner making it 1-0 just 80 seconds after the opening faceoff and Girardi giving them a 2-0 lead at 13:18.

It was the 10th time in 16 games the Oilers gave up the first goal and eighth time they permitted a goal in the first three minutes of a game.

"That was one of the things we emphasized going into this game, not giving up that early goal," Oilers left winger Milan Lucic said. "Unfortunately, we give up an early one 1:20 in. That's on no one but the players, not being ready to play, not being ready to go. It seems to have bit us in this last little stretch."

The Oilers closed it to 2-1 on a goal from Sekera at 18:45 of the first period, but Grabner restored the two-goal lead with a breakaway goal at 14:35 of the second.

The Rangers, who have outscored their opponents 29-8 in the middle frame this year, closed out a scoreless third period for the win.

"Back-to-back and then losing a guy, everyone stepped up, everyone battled out there it was tough game for us and it was a big win," Grabner said. "Everyone was able to step up their game a little bit and battle hard."

After roaring out to a 7-1-0 record, the Oilers suddenly find themselves in a tailspin.

"That confidence and swagger we had in the first eight games seems to get away from us a little bit, we haven't had it in the last eight games," said Lucic, who blames the slow starts for Edmonton's recent slide.

"When you're playing from behind, catch-up hockey, that's when you find yourself 2-5-1 over the last eight games. Our starts have to be better, our finish has to be better, our defensive-zone play has to be better, and as individuals, we all need to be better."

There is concern around a team that finished at or near the bottom of the league for the last 10 years, but captain Connor McDavid says it is way too early to panic.

"The only thing it's going to take is bearing down on the details of the game," he said. "It's an 82-game season, a long year, and you're going to go through highs and lows -- we're going through one. The only way we're going to get out of it is by working extra hard."

NOTES: The Oilers sent LW Taylor Beck back to AHL Bakersfield now that RW Zack Kassian is back after missing three games out with a lower-body injury. ... The Rangers are averaging a league high 4.13 goals per game and own the best goal differential (plus-29) in the NHL. ... Oilers G Cam Talbot leads the NHL in games played (145) and saves (424). ... The Oilers have allowed a goal in the first two minutes of a game seven times this season, yet they trailed at the first intermission only three times in their first 16 games. ... Rangers C Josh Jooris is skating again as he recovers from a separated shoulder but is still a few weeks away. ... The Oilers came into Sunday's game with six players on the injured list, down from two games ago when it was eight.