The Vegas Golden Knights’ six-game point streak and four-game winning streak came to an end as the Golden Knights fell 6-3 to the Edmonton Oilers Saturday afternoon at Rogers Place.
Edmonton scored four goals in the second period, and though the Golden Knights cut the deficit to two early in the third, Edmonton’s answer less than a minute later proved to be too much for the visitors to overcome.
The Golden Knights had won both previous meetings against the Oilers, holding Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet. However, that would not be the case in the Saturday matinee, as the Edmonton offense broke through early and often.
That doesn’t mean Edmonton was in control, however. The first period featured back-and-forth action with chances at both ends, and the Golden Knights led in shot attempts and scoring chances in all three periods.
The difference came down to finishing.
The Oilers capitalized on every Vegas mistake, while the Golden Knights failed to bury their chances. Vegas hit the post three times (including twice in the opening frame) and could never take over the momentum.
The first period featured only one goal, a power-play strike by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that came immediately after a golden shorthanded opportunity for Vegas. Jack Eichel and William Karlsson were unable to connect at one end, and McDavid found Nugent-Hopkins alone in the slot at the other.
The Oilers doubled their lead just 1:13 into the second period on Zach Hyman’s eighth of the year. A turnover by Shea Theodore off the faceoff ended up in the back of Vegas’ net.
The Golden Knights had extended time in the offensive zone but got caught in transition, and it cost them. Draisaitl sent a shot-pass off Adin Hill’s pad, and Connor Brown cleaned up the rebound to make it 3-0.
Vegas hit the post for the third time off a great look by Alex Pietrangelo, but the Oilers continued to pounce. A turnover in the neutral zone led to Draisaitl standing alone in front of the net, which resulted in his third point of the game.
Just over two minutes later, the Oilers continued to pour it on as Corey Perry made it 5-0 at 12:53.
It was the Oilers’ fourth goal on just nine shots in the second period.
But the Golden Knights started to show some signs of life, ending Stuart Skinner’s shutout bid as Victor Olofsson scored for the second game in a row.
Just 26 seconds later, the Golden Knights found twine once again, as Ivan Barbashev netted his 15th of the season.
The goal was waved off for goaltender interference, but it was an easy challenge for Vegas; not only did the Golden Knights not have a choice in a 5-1 game, but there was nothing on the replay to indicate that Vegas had interfered with Skinner at all. The successful challenge made it a three-goal game with under four minutes in the second.
Vegas took a late penalty, setting up nearly 90 seconds of critical shorthanded time to start the third.
But early in the third, an absolute gift from Skinner handed the Golden Knights an empty-net goal, as Brett Howden scored on the wraparound after Skinner’s blunder. It was Howden’s 11th of the year and Vegas’ second shorthanded tally of the season, and it made it a two-goal game one minute into the final frame.
Vegas had taken back the momentum, but it wouldn’t last long.
Forward Jeff Skinner’s goal 38 seconds later restored the Oilers’ three-goal lead.
Perhaps more importantly, however, it was a momentum-crushing moment for the Golden Knights, who continued to push but were unable to recover.
In the end, Vegas generated a lot offensively, leading 88-54 in shot attempts and 41-34 in shots. However, that didn’t translate, especially early on when the team couldn’t catch a break. Skinner made timely saves for the Oilers, and the Golden Knights were unable to make the most of the opportunities they created. Ultimately, though, the team’s defensive lapses and mistakes were its downfall.
There were plenty of them, as the Golden Knights went from playing a structured defensive game to seemingly completing yielding control of the net-front.
“There were a lot of details in our D zone,” Barbashev said when asked what went wrong in the second period. “We’ve been on a really good stretch defensively in the past five or six games; we’ve done a really good job. Today, it just wasn’t there.”
Hill looked sharp early in the game but wasn’t able to cover up his teammate’s mistakes in an ugly second-period stretch that saw Edmonton score three goals on six shots and four goals on nine.
Interestingly, when asked what was missing in the second period, “saves” was the first word out of Bruce Cassidy’s mouth in his post-game interview.
“Seemed like every opportunity they got found its way into the net, so we have to do a better job either defending or getting a stop. … It was a bad stretch for us. We need to put out some fires there and stay in the game, and we weren’t able to do it.”
Hill gave up six goals on 34 shots for an .824 save percentage. Though Vegas’ defensive game was a disaster, one or two timely saves would have made a huge difference, which was especially true on Skinner’s game-breaking goal.
At the time, it appeared that Vegas was well on its way to attempt another comeback effort, but Skinner’s goal off the rebound put an end to that.
“We can’t give up the next goal, obviously,” Cassidy said. “That probably took the wind out of our sails.”
The Golden Knights have a short turnaround with a meeting against the Wild tomorrow afternoon. Minnesota is also playing in the second half of a back-to-back after beating the Flyers 4-1 on Saturday.