When is 12:37 of ice time, one shot on goal, and an even rating in a 3-1 New York Rangers loss a success?

It’s when you’re Matthew Robertson, who was skating on cloud nine Monday night – for not only was he playing in his hometown of Edmonton for the first time in his NHL career, he was also absolutely dominating the advanced analytics.

There was enough homecoming juice there to expect, or at least hope for, a strong performance from the 25-year-old defenseman. His 76 th NHL game was his second against the Oilers but the first in Edmonton, where he grew up playing hockey in his backyard rink and spent five seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Oil Kings during his junior career.

Robertson was a healthy scratch when the Rangers defeated the Oilers 4-3 in overtime at Rogers Place on Oct. 30, 2025, during his rookie NHL season.

“It’d be super, super meaningful. Be a really cool experience getting to play in front of your hometown, family and friends in the building,” Robertson told the media pregame. “It’s a game I’ve really wanted to play for a long time. It something you dream of growing up, playing in front of your hometown.”

So what did he do that didn’t fill the score sheet Monday, but still made him stand out in a positive way?

For one, his 12:37 TOI included 1:47 on the penalty kill, where the Oilers netted exactly nothing – part of a dominant 3-for-3 performance by the Rangers PK, which is now tied with the Dallas Stars for the League lead at 89.7 percent. In the process, Robertson helped the Rangers snap Edmonton’s 11-game streak with at least one power-play goal, and stifled the third-best PP unit in the NHL.

Robertson also set up Pavel Dorofeyev for a good scoring chance just minutes into the game, and was on ice for 11 of the Rangers’ 29 shots on goal (against just three allowed on his end).

Robertson and defense partner Scott Morrow put up perhaps the best showing by a Blueshirts’ third defensive pairing this season: they were 1-2, respectively, in Corsi percentage for (85.71 and 81.25), Fenwick percentage for (90.91 and 78.57), and, Luke Glendening’s minimal ice time aside, 1-2 in shots for percentage – each on the ice for seven shots for, Morrow not facing any and Robertson only one.

That led to the pair being the only two Rangers above an 80 percent expected goas share – more than 40 points — in Robertson’s case — above the player that actually lit the lamp, Jaroslav Chmelar, who had half as much ice time as the blueliners (6:04, to be exact). per Natural Stat Trick.

After being a healthy scratch the first 14 games, Morrow played the past five with Sean Durzi sidelined and on IR with an unspecified injury. Robertson stepped in two games ago when Alberts Smits went down with an upper-body injury. Smits is out week to week, affording Robertson a chance to possibly settle in as the left side third-pair defenseman — a role that was his last season, whe he played 72 games.

Matthew Robertson, Scott Morrow making positive impact on Rangers

Robertson’s second game of the season had meaning because of the location, but because he was able to truly prepare – unlike his season debut Saturday in Seattle, where he found out literally minutes before game time that he was in the lineup against the Kraken.

“I was out of my gear after warmups, and then eight minutes before the game, they’re like, ‘Get dressed. You’re going in,’” Robertson told Vince Mercogliano of The Athletic pregame. “So I quickly got dressed and got out there near the end of the anthem. I did a couple hard laps and got right into it. A lot of adrenaline.”

Monday was a much better performance for Robertson than being analytically the worst of the six blueliners for the Rangers in Seattle. Plus he’s more of a proven commodity over Morrow, who has a higher offensive upside, however.

So, what happens when Durzi returns — he’s skating wearing a no-contact jersey on the road trip — is a bit up in the air. Morrow’s been good, but Sullivan does prefer to balance his defense pairs with three righties and three lefties. So, Robertson’s run in the lineup very well could continue if he plays at he level he displayed Monday night.

First things first, though. Robertson stepped up in his long-awaited homecoming. And that means something, for sure.