Oilers rebound with gutsy road win over Golden Knights

The Oilers followed up one of their worst losses of the season with a much stronger effort on Sunday, grinding out a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights in Vegas.

After a scoreless first period, Edmonton opened the scoring three minutes into the second when Trent Frederic shoveled in his fourth goal of the season. Noah Hanifin tied the game later in the frame before Vasily Podkolzin restored Edmonton’s lead early in the third.

Leon Draisaitl extended the lead to 3-1 later in the third, Jack Eichel scored a short-handed goal late to make things interesting, and then Kasperi Kapanen sealed the deal with an empty-netter.

Connor Ingram stopped 24 of 26 shots for his third win in four starts since the Olympic break. Vegas goaltender Adin Hill allowed three goals on 18 shots in the loss.

The win marked just the second time in Edmonton’s last ten games that the Oilers have allowed fewer than three goals. For a team that’s relied heavily on star players to outscore its problems over the past few months, holding the Golden Knights to two goals felt like a step in the right direction.

Winning the game in regulation was significant for the Oilers and their pursuit of home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Edmonton is now two points back of Vegas for second place in the Pacific Division, with both teams having played the same number of games.

The Oilers have two wins in two meetings with the Golden Knights this season. The teams are scheduled to meet two more times in the regular season.

What they said…

Goaltender Connor Ingram on the Oilers needing to string wins together…

“I think this is a good example of what we can do. But at the end of the day, this one’s over. Let’s move on. We’ve got three more left on this road trip. We got two points here, but it’s the two-hour rule: enjoy it for two hours, then we turn the page.

“Every game from here on out, we’re going to have to fight and claw. It’s time to go to work, and that’s what we did today. If we keep this effort and this mindset, we’ll be okay.”

Head coach Kris Knoblauch on Edmonton’s improved defensive play… 

“There were a lot of things that I liked, mostly the defending. I thought we did a pretty good job. There were times when we spent a little more time in our defensive zone, but we kept them to the outside and a lot of perimeter shots. So I like that part of it. I thought the penalty kill was really good, and when they did get their opportunities, I thought [Connor Ingram] did a great job.”

Winger Vasily Podkolzin on the Oilers bouncing back from a tough loss…

“We just kept grinding. Sometimes, it’s tough to recover quickly from a loss like that, but what else can we do? We are at the part of the season where we need to grind and fight.”

Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy on what went wrong for the Golden Knights…

“We did control some play and had pockets where we were really good when we played a certain way. But some of the chances we gave up came from trying to pass it around the outside. That’s not smart hockey for a veteran team.”

Knoblauch on the Oilers starting their road trip off with a win… 

“We’re not playing as well as we want to, not as many wins as we wanted after the break [3-3-0]. Going on this [four-game] road trip, a very difficult road trip, playing a lot of good teams, when you get that first one, everyone can relax a little more and hopefully feel a little more confident.”

Up next…

The road trip will continue on Tuesday with the Oilers stopping in Colorado to face the Avalanche, who boast the league’s best record at 43-10-9. Edmonton will then play a back-to-back in Dallas and St. Louis on Thursday and Friday before returning home to host the Predators on Sunday.