The Vegas Golden Knights snapped their six-game winning streak when they came up short in a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. However, Vegas officially clinched a berth in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs thanks to Utah’s 3-1 win over Calgary.
Edmonton was missing several key players, including Connor McDavid, Stuart Skinner and Mattias Ekholm. However, the Oilers made the most of their opportunities with a three-goal second period, and former Vegas expansion pick Calvin Pickard stopped 20 of 22 shots for a .909 save percentage in his first game against the Golden Knights. Pickard came up with a particularly clutch save on Pavel Dorofeyev in the third period to secure the two points.
The Golden Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead 4:34 into the contest when Dorofeyev set up Nicolas Roy following an Oilers turnover in the neutral zone.
It was the lone goal of a strong opening 20 minutes for the home team, which outshot the Oilers 10-4 while holding them to zero high-danger chances.
The second period was an entirely different story, and it’s the reason the Golden Knights lost this game.
Jake Walman tied things up at 1-1 just 19 seconds into the middle frame.
From there, things went from bad to worse, as the Oilers scored two more goals to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
First, Leon Draisaitl scored his 52nd goal of the season on a one-timer off an excellent feed by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Adin Hill had no chance on the play, which was the first 5-on-3 goal Vegas has allowed this season.
Just 2:17 later, the Oilers struck again. Hill made an excellent stop on Viktor Arvidsson’s initial shot, but Arvidsson managed to jab the puck from under Hill’s pad and drive it into the net. Vegas challenged the play for goaltender interference, as it appeared as though Arvidsson may have pushed Hill’s pad over the goal line. However, the call on the ice was confirmed, and Vegas was issued a delay-of-game minor as a result.
Vegas was much better in the third period, leading 25-13 in Corsi and 7-3 in scoring chances.
The Golden Knights pulled within one on Dorofeyev’s 32nd of the season just 2:35 in.
But despite generating multiple grade-A chances down the stretch, the Golden Knights were unable to net the equalizer in a 3-2 decision. In the end, Vegas and Edmonton split the season series 2-2-0.
This game was decided in the second period.
The Golden Knights’ penalty trouble threw off their rhythm and allowed Edmonton to take the lead and shift the momentum. The Golden Knights’ sloppy effort and lack of execution turned the tide.
Following a second-period effort that was completely lacking, Vegas bounced back with a better showing in the third, testing Pickard and coming close to resetting the score on several occasions. But the Golden Knights didn’t make it happen. Not playing 60 minutes ultimately cost them.
Jack Eichel was named the NHL’s First Star of the Month for March after accumulating 23 points in 14 games, but his six-game point streak came to an end against the Oilers. The top line was on the ice for two goals against and gave up four high-danger chances while generating just one of their own and being held off the board. That’s not a winning formula for such a talented two-way line featuring both Eichel and Mark Stone.
Though the third line had another strong game and almost converted on a vintage William Karlsson-Reilly Smith opportunity, it was the second line of Roy, Dorofeyev and Brandon Saad that stood out.
Roy continues to play very well, particularly with Tomas Hertl — who will miss the rest of the week — out of the lineup. Both Vegas goals were scored by the second line, which had a team-high 62.92 percent expected goal share, and Dorofeyev had several fantastic looks late in the game.
The fact that the Golden Knights clinched the franchise’s seventh postseason berth in eight seasons is an accomplishment that should be lauded.
On the whole, Vegas, which now sits at 45-21-8, has had an excellent season. Despite ups and downs as well as injuries, the Golden Knights have managed to consistently pick up points, allowing them to stay near the top of the Western Conference standings all year. With eight games remaining, this is the fastest the club has punched its ticket to the playoffs. The Golden Knights remain in first place in the division with 98 points.
That being said, this was a blown opportunity to put a stranglehold on the Pacific standings. In addition to Edmonton’s four-point win, Los Angeles also won on Tuesday, giving the Golden Knights a five-point lead over the Kings and a seven-point lead over the Oilers. The race is still tight, but the Golden Knights control their own destiny with all three teams sitting at 74 games played.
At the end of the day, not playing 60 minutes against a playoff team is not going to suffice at this stage of the campaign, and Vegas knows that. How the Golden Knights respond Thursday against the league-best Winnipeg Jets will be telling.
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick