The Vegas Golden Knights (16-8-10) rallied with two third-period goals but came up short in a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers (18-13-6) Sunday night at Rogers Place.
The Golden Knights lost both games in their back-to-back weekend set in Alberta, suffering consecutive regulation losses for the first time this season. Vegas has now lost three games in a row (0-2-1).
Much like Saturday’s game in Calgary (a 6-3 defeat), Vegas fell behind early, though the deficit was much steeper against Connor McDavid and the Oilers. In fact, Edmonton led 4-0 through the first 32:59 of the contest.
The Golden Knights cashed in twice on the power play and scored three straight goals to make it 4-3 early in the third period, but the Oilers held off the late push to secure the win.
Once again, Vegas was without Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore, not to mention William Karlsson. However, other top players stepped up in their absence, as Tomas Hertl and Mitch Marner had multi-point efforts, as did Noah Hanifin.
First period
Aside from McDavid playing on another level, the key factor in the first period was the power play. Vegas had three opportunities but went 0-for-3; the Oilers went 1-for-1.
As Bruce Cassidy put it, “Theirs was good, ours wasn’t.”
It was Vegas that got the first opportunity 5:47 into the game, but the Golden Knights failed to capitalize. That being said, Vegas generated multiple good looks and moved the puck well. Hertl hit the post, and Marner was effective on the half wall in place of Eichel, making faster reads to keep things fluid. Even so, Vegas was unable to convert.
“We put five or six pucks into the bumper on plays we want,” Cassidy said. “We didn’t execute. We hit a post, but nothing got to the net.”
Vegas got two more chances on the power play, the first of which came on a vicious slash by Leon Draisaitl on Hertl. It likely wasn’t related to Alex Pietrangelo’s two-handed slash on Draisaitl in the 2023 playoff series, however, but instead was a retaliatory measure in response to Hertl’s hit in the neutral zone. In any case, both of Vegas’ later power plays fell by the wayside.
The Oilers, meanwhile, scored on their only power play of the period, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was undetected as he made his way to the backdoor to redirect Draisaitl’s feed.
At that point, the Oilers led 2-0, though it was McDavid who initially opened the scoring 5:26 earlier. McDavid’s turbo-boost acceleration propelled him past and around the Vegas defenders, and he beat Carter Hart to the far post with his 23rd goal of the season.
The Oilers outshot Vegas 12-7 in the first period and led 16-8 in Corsi with a 73.17 percent expected goal share at 5-on-5. Both teams were skating in the second half of a back-to-back, but the Golden Knights’ slow start put them in a 2-0 hole after 20 minutes.
“[The Oilers] should have been much more fatigued than we were,” Cassidy said about Vegas’ effort in the first period. “I don’t really have a reason why we wouldn’t start on time. What I saw was we didn’t execute or play with the same pace or compete that they did. Why that was, it certainly was nothing to do with the back-to-back.”
Second period
Jeremy Lauzon committed his routine minor infraction to put the Oilers back on the power play just under two minutes into the period. It took 24 seconds for Edmonton to strike.
Once again, it was Nugent-Hopkins who found twine, though Vegas looked particularly overmatched and discombobulated on the shortened man-advantage.
Things went from bad to worse, as Zach Hyman scored in transition on a 3-on-2 to put the Oilers up by four.
But opportunity presented itself, as the Golden Knights got their fourth power play of the game when Adam Henrique was whistled for high-sticking Cole Reinhardt at 12:06.
Vegas was in desperate need of a goal, and Hertl delivered.
Though Edmonton scored two goals on just six shots and led 7-2 in high-danger chances (5-1 at 5-on-5), the Golden Knights led 10-6 in shots and finally got to their game in the second half of the period, with Hertl cashing in at 12:59 to end Connor Ingram’s shutout bid.
Third period
Reilly Smith drew a hooking penalty 3:31 into the third period, setting up Vegas’ fifth power play of the night.
It was a critical moment for the Golden Knights, and they rose to the occasion.
Pavel Dorofeyev potted his 10th power-play goal of the year, making him the first player in franchise history to score 10 goals on the power play in multiple seasons.
Hanifin’s point shot ended up on Dorofeyev’s stick, and he made no mistake, cutting the deficit to two just 21 seconds into the man-advantage.
Cassidy continued to shuffle the lines, and it paid off when he put his three best forwards — Mark Stone, Hertl and Marner — on the ice together. It was Marner who broke through, though Hertl made a fantastic play in front to set it up.
Hanifin recorded his third secondary assist of the night as the Golden Knights made it a one-goal game with 14:11 left in the period.
The Golden Knights were in control in the third, and they finally showed up with an effort worthy of the rivalry. Their execution was solid, they looked like the fresher and hungrier team, and they were generating chances and making a push to reset the score.
Brett Howden put that comeback effort in jeopardy when he took a penalty at 13:32, setting up a make-or-break situation for the Vegas penalty kill, which was 0-for-2 on the night. But Vegas’ special teams came through once more, completing the kill with 4:28 remaining for Vegas to find the equalizer.
The Golden Knights had chances, with Stone set up at the side of the net and Dorofeyev at the ready. However, the Oilers got sticks in lanes, broke up plays and held off Vegas’ final push.
In the third period, the Golden Knights led 12-3 in shots, 23-15 in Corsi, 11-5 in scoring chances, 6-1 in high-danger chances and 2-0 in goals with a 65.25 percent expected goal share.
But the Oilers were able to hold on thanks to a four-goal cushion, leaving the Golden Knights pointless on this two-game road trip.
It was a valiant third-period effort, but the Golden Knights fell short.
That happens when you dig a four-goal hole against a talented club.
“We eventually got to our game, and if we wouldn’t have, we would have been embarrassed,” Cassidy said. “Our team tends to find its way, it just took too long tonight. We were right there at the end and had a chance to get points. It’s unfortunate we didn’t direct any pucks at the net with the goalie out; I think we had a couple opportunities to do that.”
Cashing in on the early power play could have changed the face of the game. But instead of Vegas building on that effort, they let the Oilers take over and found themselves chasing. Chasing McDavid is never advisable.
Hart finished the game with 17 saves on 21 shots for an .810 save percentage, but this loss was not on him. The Golden Knights failed to give him any assistance when shorthanded, and Edmonton had multiple odd-man rushes while capitalizing on Vegas’ mistakes.
The slow start is what cost Vegas.
“The last two [first periods] obviously haven’t been ideal for us,” Marner said. “We’re going down early, and that’s something you don’t want to do, especially against good teams. They made good plays on their power play to put two in on us there. But I do like the way that we respond, though, and don’t sit back, and push, especially in the third. … But we need to be better in the first.”
The ice was tilted in Vegas’ favor as the game wore on. Even without Eichel, Theodore and Karlsson, Vegas was not only competitive, but threatening down the stretch. However, you can’t show up for 20 minutes and expect to win games, particularly against a rival club.
“It’s not just another game,” Cassidy said. “I don’t think we should treat it that way. … The road out of the Pacific has generally gone through Vegas or Edmonton recently, and we’d like to keep it that way. So let’s do our part and make sure that we’re competitive. I’m sure they’d say the same thing. No matter who wins or loses, you leave the building knowing you’re in a hockey game. So that was kind of the message that came after the first period. It was good to see us get to a proper level.”
But Vegas was nowhere near that “proper level” at puck drop. Even at 2-0, the Golden Knights weren’t prepared to take back the momentum. It took a four-goal deficit for the Golden Knights to wake up.
Prior to that, the intensity wasn’t there. The hunger wasn’t there.
It’s clearly not an issue of capability, as the Golden Knights were a different team in the third period. But Vegas needs that level of effort from the get-go.
“I think when you’re down some key pieces, sometimes it’s tough, but you can’t defer,” Hanifin said. “You gotta attack the game. And when we do that, we have success. … You just gotta play with confidence, and you can’t sit back, especially against skill up front. If you sit back and you let them dictate, you’re gonna be in trouble. So I think that’s something we just have to change our mindset on.”
At the end of the day, it’s pretty simple.
“We’re not starting on time,” Cassidy said. “[The players] have to realize it sooner or later.”
Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Photo via NHL.com