The Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-15) overcame three one-goal deficits but fell short in overtime in a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers (36-28-9) Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Evan Bouchard scored the game-winning goal off a faceoff 3:10 into the extra frame to give the second-place Oilers the extra point. Edmonton now leads Vegas by two points in the Pacific Division standings, with the Ducks pulling seven points ahead of the Golden Knights with a game in hand.
Mark Stone scored for the first time since the Olympics, and Vegas lit the lamp three times at 5-on-5. However, a failed 4-on-3 power play in overtime as well as costly turnovers proved to be the difference in the back-and-forth contest.
It was a heated first period between two rivals, with multiple fights and a line brawl. Though Adin Hill made a couple of key saves, Matt Savoie gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead with the lone goal of the frame. Vegas’ defensive coverage was casual on the play, and Connor McDavid went to work, recording his 800th career assist at 11:52.
In general, the Golden Knights were too careless with the puck and turned it over far too many times.
“Everybody knew we were playing against a really good team that plays really well on the rush,” Ivan Barbashev said. “They’ve got some really good players, they’re fast and really skilled. This is probably where we got caught in the first, just trying to get out of our zone. We just made a few mistakes, but I think we got better in the second and third. We just gotta clear that up moving forward.”
The second period featured four goals, including Stone’s first of the night just 4:09 into the frame. Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram robbed Barbashev on the doorstop, but Stone’s follow-up made its way over the goal line to even things up at 1-1.
The Golden Knights then had a 4-on-2 but committed an egregious turnover just inside the blue line, setting up a 3-on-1 for McDavid and the Oilers. The result was McDavid’s 41st goal (and 120th point) of the season just over three minutes after Stone reset the score.
But once again, the Golden Knights had the answer, and the goal came off the stick of the Vegas captain, who stripped McDavid and then fooled Ingram on a beautiful move to tie the game at 14:51.
But it took less than two minutes for the Golden Knights to find themselves trailing once again. It was a similar move, as Zach Hyman lifted Brayden McNabb’s stick to strip the puck before beating Hill from in tight.
The Golden Knights trailed by one heading into the third period.
Vegas gave up yet another odd-man rush, but Hill made the save. Shortly thereafter, Barbashev converted on a 2-on-1 to make it a 3-3 contest, scoring on the rebound after Pavel Dorofeyev’s shot went off Ingram’s pad. The goal came after an icing, which is why Barbashev was skating on the second line, though it worked out for Vegas.
Neither team was able to pull ahead in regulation, setting up Vegas’ first overtime game in three weeks. Despite the fact that the referees had been letting them play, Stone was able to draw a penalty to set up a 4-on-3 power play for the home team.
However, the Golden Knights failed to take advantage despite maintaining possession and getting pucks to the net. The Oilers had a 2-on-1 at the end of it, but Hill came up with a big save on Darnell Nurse. He was unable to make the next stop, however, as Bouchard’s rocket found twine to end the game.
“Good game from both sides,” Barbashev said. “I think we made some mistakes early in the game, but I thought we were better in the second and third. Pretty close game. Unfortunate result, but I think it’s gonna go our way pretty soon.”
The Golden Knights have been starved for offense and came into the game with five goals in their previous five games.
“We got three 5-on-5 goals; they’re big,” Stone said. “Obviously a couple of them are off turnovers. We’re a good rush team, so we were able to make some plays off the rush. … But we want to be getting those first, second and third chances to get [the other team] out of position.”
But the Golden Knights weren’t able to generate second and third looks consistently, which led to missed opportunities. That was particularly true of the man-advantage in overtime.
However, the Golden Knights fought back from three one-goal deficits, tying the game twice in the second period and again in the third. That’s a stark contrast to falling into multi-goal deficits, which has become the norm of late.
Vegas also committed too many turnovers, and the Oilers made them count.
“I thought we played a pretty good 5-on-5 game,” Stone said. “The problem with us is we’re giving up big mistakes we’ve gotta clean up.”
The Golden Knights’ execution seemed to be somewhat sharper when they were trailing, while they made more mistakes and mental errors when the game was tied, which is consistent with how things have gone in recent weeks.
Hill had a solid game, stopping 25 of 29 shots (.862 save percentage), including a big save on a 2-on-1 in overtime. However, he was unable to prevent Bouchard’s game-winner.
This felt more like a playoff game, and the Golden Knights were competitive and more convincing than they have been in most games this month. But they still failed to come up with the final play, which remains a concern, particularly since the Oilers were without Leon Draisaitl.
“We got saves tonight, we just need to capitalize better,” Bruce Cassidy said.
The primary example of the lack of capitalization was the 4-on-3 power play in overtime.
“The power play in overtime could have been the big difference maker,” Cassidy said.
It was not.
The Golden Knights generated plenty of looks and directed many pucks at the net, but most of their opportunities were not high-danger chances. The Oilers did a good job collapsing and taking shooting lanes away, and Vegas wasn’t aggressive enough.
That being said, Stone’s two-goal performance is a significant takeaway, as he has been snake-bitten since the Olympic break. The fact that he scored two goals, and the fact that members of the top line accounted for all three (even though Barbashev’s goal came when Vegas was between shifts), is critical for the Golden Knights moving forward.
“It was a matter of time,” Cassidy said about the top line’s production. “They have to. They gotta carry it for us.”
Stone said his performance was “fine. Obviously, I’ve been fighting it a bit. I’m trying to do what I can to help this team, and trying to get us going into the right direction.”
The Oilers have had Vegas’ number of late, winning nine out of the last 10 games. Though two points were needed, it was still important to come away with one, particularly since both Los Angeles and Seattle won on Thursday.
The Golden Knights, meanwhile, have lost five of their last six games and 10 of their last 14.
“We need points,” Barbashev said. “Fortunately, we got one today. We probably would have been better with two, but just moving forward I think that there’s a few teams that are pretty close behind us, so we just gotta play our best.”
The Golden Knights will host the Washington Captials Saturday and will wrap up the homestand with games against Vancouver and Calgary next week before taking on the Oilers in Edmonton next Saturday. That could be a potential preview of the first round, though the Western Conference standings are up in the air.
“We’re just trying to get our game together and get in,” Cassidy said. “It’s been a battle for us since the Olympic break to win games, so let’s get winning again, feel good about ourselves. Take care of winning, and then we’ll worry about whoever our opponent is.
“If it is Edmonton, then I will say, yes, they’ve come [to T-Mobile Arena] and won games. That’s twice this year, and in the playoffs last year. But [that potential matchup] is the farthest thing from my mind right now. We’ve got other things to take care of.”
Stone echoed that focused sentiment.
“We’ve got nine big games left to put ourselves in the dance,” Stone said. “There’s no guarantees, so we have to continue to wake up in the morning, put our best foot forward, get better and be ready for every game.”
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights