For much of the season, slow starts have plagued the Edmonton Oilers, as they’ve often found themselves behind early and playing catch-up throughout the game.

That hasn’t been the case during the team’s three-game winning streak.

The Oilers went up 4-1 over the Anaheim Ducks and 2-0 over the San Jose Sharks through 20 minutes earlier this week en route to lopsided victories. Against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, despite being on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Oilers again came out of the gates flying, as Mattias Janmark scored 45 seconds into the game and Leon Draisaitl scored again under one minute later.

From there, it was a battle that featured the Golden Knights trying to claw back and the Oilers shoving them down.

Keegan Kolesar cut Edmonton’s lead to one before the end of the first frame, but Leon Draisaitl made the score 3-1 in the second. Paul Cotter again brought Vegas to within one goal, but Klim Kostin restored Edmonton’s two-goal lead seconds later.

In the third period, the Oilers completely slammed the door and walked out with a 4-3 win. The final 20 minutes were perhaps Edmonton’s most impressive, as they dominated Vegas 18-to-9 in shot attempts and 4-to-1 in high-danger chances while protecting their lead.

“Without being under siege, without taking a foot off the gas, I think we just played our game in that third period,” head coach Jay Woodcroft said after that game. “So credit to our players. We talked a lot about continuing what we were doing to build the lead, making sure that their defense had to go back and fetch pucks and work through five of us in order to get back to our end. So I thought it was a really competitive, entertaining hockey game. There were some moments we’d like to have back in it on the defensive side, but for the most part, I thought we controlled most of that game.”

With the win, the Oilers are now seven points behind the Golden Knights in the standings. There’s plenty of work to do, but Edmonton will face Vegas twice more this season, so the gap isn’t insurmountable.

“If I have to emphasize we’re playing a divisional team, shame on the guys,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s the way I look at it. We know who we’re playing. We may not know every place in the standings of every team. Most players don’t. But understanding the value of divisional points and coming out ready to play, it’s disappointing.”

THE DAY AFTER IS PRESENTED BY BETWAY