The Vegas Golden Knights (29-21-14) suffered their fifth loss since returning from the Olympic break when they came up short in a 4-2 decision against the Edmonton Oilers (31-25-8) Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights were tied at 1-1 in the third period but proceeded to give up three goals in the final frame.
Brett Howden returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 10. He finished the game with a plus-one rating and three hits in 15:29, playing primarily with Mitch Marner and Pavel Dorofeyev. The trio led 13-7 in shot attempts and 4-2 in shots but had just 42.38 percent of the expected goal share in 8:42, per Natural Stat Trick.
The Oilers were the better team for the first half of the opening frame, but the Golden Knights started to tilt the ice in the second half of the period. That being said, while Vegas eventually got to its game, the Golden Knights were fortunate that it remained scoreless after one.
That changed early in the second when Trent Frederic got the Oilers on the board first with his fourth of the year just 3:21 into the period. Adin Hill stopped the initial chance but overcommitted to a wraparound shot that never came, leaving him wildly out of position and unable to keep Frederic from chipping the puck up and over him.
But unlike many recent games, the Golden Knights were able to stop the bleeding instead of yielding several unanswered goals.
At first, it seemed as though Keegan Kolesar had evened the game at 1-1, but his goal was called back when Edmonton successfully challenged for offside.
However, the Golden Knights eventually cashed in thanks to a deep blast from Noah Hanifin, who reset the score at 13:09. This one counted.
For the first time in a while (and just the 12th time this season), the Golden Knights entered the third period tied at 1-1.
Hill came up with a big save on a Kasperi Kapanen breakaway early in the third period to keep things even.
But a lost faceoff in Edmonton’s end led to the Oilers’ second of the game off the stick of Vasily Podkolzin, who split the defense and beat Hill on a breakaway. It was another early goal, with this one coming at 2:34.
The Oilers improved their lead to 3-1 during an unlucky stretch for the Golden Knights. Rasmus Andersson’s stick broke as he tried to clear, extending Edmonton’s shift in the offensive zone. Then, that broken stick went on to extend the Oilers’ shift once more, ultimately leading to Leon Draisaitl’s 34th of the season. This proved to be the game-winner and gave the Oilers their first multi-goal lead of the night at 11:53.
With less than five minutes remaining, the Oilers got a power play when Shea Theodore’s stick caught Draisaitl up high.
But the power kill went to work.
Jack Eichel stepped up with a standout shift, taking the puck the length of the ice, continuing to work and eventually scoring a shorthanded goal to make it a one-goal game with 3:17 to go.
However, that’s as close as the Golden Knights would come in their effort to rally. The Oilers scored on the empty net with just under two minutes remaining, putting the game out of reach at 4-2.
The Golden Knights are 2-5-0 since the Olympic break and have lost back-to-back games on home ice in matching 4-2 defeats against Minnesota and Edmonton.
The Golden Knights also wasted a stronger performance by Hill, who made a number of key stops and kept Vegas within a goal through the first 50-plus minutes of the game. He ultimately turned aside 15 of 18 shots for another sub-par save percentage (.833), but he kept it close all night, giving the Golden Knights every chance to win.
But the Golden Knights were unable to seize the moment.
Eichel made things interesting on his individual effort on the shorthanded tally, but the Golden Knights didn’t have enough grade-A scoring threats throughout the contest. They led 65-46 in shot attempts and 26-19 in shots but trailed 13-10 in high-danger chances and finished the game with just 44.68 percent of the expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick.
Even though Vegas held the Oilers to just 11 shots through 40 minutes, and even though Vegas went up against a team that has been bleeding goals, the Golden Knights still were unable to capitalize on opportunities and unable to find a way to come away with at least a point, if not two.
As a result, the Golden Knights failed to take advantage of a four-point swing in the standings. Instead, the third-place Oilers now trail Vegas by just two points, with both teams sitting at 64 games played. The first-place Ducks sit one point ahead of Vegas with a game in hand.
The Golden Knights are spiraling at the worst possible time. In fact, Vegas has won just one of its last 16 games against playoff teams, with the lone exception being the come-from-behind win in Detroit earlier this week.
There were some differences in the formula tonight, including not falling into a multi-goal hole early. However, the outcome was the same, which is a concerning trend for a group looking to establish itself as the top team in the division and a true contender for this year’s playoffs.
The Golden Knights will head to Dallas to take on the red-hot Stars on Tuesday before returning home for a four-game homestand against Pittsburgh, Chicago, Buffalo and Utah. The Golden Knights will host the Oilers again on March 26 and will wrap up the season series April 4 in Edmonton.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights