With Oilers Fans Flowing Into Las Vegas For Big Crowd of 18,391, Edmonton Scores Four Straight For 7-4 Win Over VGK Thursday
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
Well, the good news for the Vegas Golden Knights tonight was that they scored two goals on their first three shots on goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the first period.
The bad news was that the Oilers scored three goals.
After one period, division rival Edmonton led the VGK, 3-2, before a crowd with thousands of Oilers fans. ESPN is also broadcasting the game.
The Knights never led tonight. The Edmonton Oilers scored four straight goals starting midway through period two and rolled to an easy 7-4 win over Vegas before an announced crowd of 18,391. The Golden Knights have 98 points, while the Oilers improved to 95 points in the division as the big crowd chanted, “Let’s go Oilers,” late in the game.
Knights coach Bruce Cassidy’s comments summed up the VGK loss: “We didn’t defend at our typical level.”
Cassidy said the Golden Knights tried to beat the offensively-gifted Edmonton club at its own game and that resulted in the loss.
“If we play like we did today, we’re out,” Cassidy said at his postgame presser.
Original Misfits Jonathan Marchessault (25) and William Karlsson (14 — a shorty) scored for the Knights in the opening period.
Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl (47th goal on the power play) scored for Edmonton.
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In the first few minutes of the middle stanza, VGK’s Michael Amadio found some loose change in front of the Edmonton net and fired the puck past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.
The Knights were tied with Edmonton.
It didn’t last long, though.
The Oilers’ Darnell Nurse scored his tenth off a sharp angle against VGK netminder Jonathan Quick and Edmonton was leading, 4-3.
Let’s just say Quick is not on top of his game tonight.
But Cassidy did not pin the loss on Quick.
“I’m not putting it on Jonathan Quick,” he said.
He noted Laurent Brossoit will be goal for the VGK against the Sharks in San Jose Thursday.
Connor McDavid may be the most spectacular hockey player on earth and his buddy, Leon Draisaitl, isn’t too shabby either. Draisaitl triggered a rush and then fed former San Jose Sharks villain Evander Kane, who buried the puck past Quick for a 5-3 Oilers lead.
Edmonton fans were cheering again in the Big Ice House by the Strip when Zach Hyman beat an outmatched Quick. It was Hyman’s 33rd goal with the assist coming from McDavid.
Edmonton enjoyed a 6-3 lead going into the second intermission.
With Quick not looking very sharp tonight, Knights coach Bruce Cassidy lifted the 37-year-old netminder after the second period and replaced him with Brossoit.
It didn’t help.
Edmonton defenseman Brett Kulak skated in on the right side and scored an unassisted goal to give Edmonton a 7-3 lead.
The Knights’ All-Star goalie Logan Thompson is out injured and Cassidy observed that “we’ll sort through” the goalie situation as the regular season winds down and the playoffs loom on the horizon.
Marchessault added a garbage time goal with about a minute and a half to go in the third period.
Final: Edmonton 7 Vegas 4
