It felt like the spring of 2023 again on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
It was a playoff atmosphere all night as the Edmonton Oilers visited the Vegas Golden Knights. Edmonton threw absolutely everything they had at Vegas goaltender Adin Hill but couldn’t break through, coming away empty-handed in a tough 1-0 loss.
The first two periods were about as even as a game can be, with Vegas leading the shot counter 14-12 after 40 hard-fought, tight-checking minutes. The Oilers will spend the flight home wondering what could’ve been, as Vegas’ only goal was entirely preventable.
The Oilers were finally threatening halfway through the first, putting extreme pressure on the Golden Knights on a long offensive zone shift, when a Leon Draisaitl touch pass didn’t quite make it to Evan Bouchard at the point. Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev picked it up to create a 2-on-1, with Bouchard ably blocking a cross-ice pass.
Unfortunately, it landed right back on Barbashev’s stick, and he caught Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner by surprise by sneaking it between his legs for what would stand as the game-winning goal.
The Oilers wouldn’t go down without a fight, however. They came out guns a-blazing in the third period, sticking Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together for the entirety of the final frame as they pressed for an equalizing goal.
They dominated the third, outshooting Vegas 16-2 and spending nearly the entire period in their zone. But just like their 2023 playoff series, every Oilers pass seemed to meet a Golden Knights stick, every shot a shinpad, and anything that did make it through to the net was turned aside by a locked-in Adin Hill.
The final result should’ve been an Oilers thrashing, as they generated 3.69 expected goals to Vegas’ 1.15, with almost half of those Oilers xG coming in the third period alone. But Hill proved why he’s expected to make Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, completely silencing the Oilers’ offence.
Oilers Play of the Game
Stuart Skinner may have misplayed Vegas’ lone goal, but he made up for it early in the second with this absolute robbery on Tomas Hertl off another tough Oilers turnover. His 15 saves on 16 shots on Tuesday raise his save percentage up to .910 over his past five games as he continues to rebound from his horrific start to the season.
While it’s certainly a disappointing result for an Oilers team that still hasn’t yet found its groove yet this season, it’s hard to fault them for getting goalied in a game that felt more at home in late April than early December. One can only hope that luck is on their side when they find themselves in the same situation in the spring.
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