EDMONTON — There are wins and then there are wins that mean that much more.
The Edmonton Oilers beating the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 on Saturday afternoon falls into the latter category.
“It’s fun beating them, of course,” Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl said. “They’d say the same thing on the other side.”
“The history between our clubs goes back even before my time here,” said Connor Brown, a second-year Oiler. “It’s always a big game against Vegas. They’re such a good team. They’re a deep team.
“It’s nice to win on home ice and do it in that fashion, too.”
The victory over the hated Golden Knights meant “a little bit” more, according to Brown, given what went down in the first two matchups of the season.
The Oilers were annoyed to drop the first two games between the teams, defeats that came in different yet crushing ways.
The first meeting on Nov. 6 saw them blow a third-period lead in Connor McDavid’s return from an ankle injury when they allowed Noah Hanifin to score twice before Mark Stone added an empty-netter.
Then, last Tuesday, the Oilers couldn’t solve Vegas goalie Adin Hill while the only goal to beat counterpart Stuart Skinner came off the stick of Ivan Barbashev, who wasn’t even trying to shoot the puck on net.
The Oilers deserved some points — maybe as many as four — but came up empty-handed. It was a tough pill to swallow given that the Golden Knights are one of their biggest adversaries.
“It’s a rivalry,” Draisaitl said. “We’ve played them in the playoffs before. They beat us. You get up for those games and you try to win those games — just like any other game, really.”
Plus, with due respect to the Los Angeles Kings, who are just ahead of Edmonton in the standings, the Oilers are bound to battle with the Golden Knights for Pacific Division supremacy in April.
Every point counts, especially in head-to-head matchups, so improving to 1-2 against them sounds a whole lot better than being 0-3.
“We’ve lost two close battles with them. We’ve played fairly well in both of them to win them, but we haven’t been able to,” defenceman Mattias Ekholm said. “Do I think we played perfect tonight? No. But against this team — we know each other so well — sometimes you’ve just got to get the win.
“Just to get a win sometimes can be really good. I thought tonight that was the case.”
Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but it was more than good enough to get the job done. Still, this was a more even tilt than the score suggested.
Golden Knights defencemen Noah Hanifin, Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo all hit posts in the first half — Oilers’ Evan Bouchard did, too — and the game changes considerably if one or two of those pucks beat Skinner.
The same is potentially true of William Karlsson whiffing a short-handed two-on-one in the first period, especially since Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring when the play went back down the ice.
The edge at five-on-five went to the Golden Knights overall, and Natural Stat Trick had the high-danger chances at 16-12 in that situation. Total shots favoured the visitors 41-34.
“That was maybe our worst game that we’ve defended,” coach Kris Knoblauch said.
But the Oilers were equal parts tenacious, opportunistic and creative to capitalize offensively.
They netted the first five goals of the game starting with the Nugent-Hopkins marker.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers (6)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/9VZ49CsATb— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 14, 2024
Zach Hyman wouldn’t be denied on a chance around the crease to put the Oilers up 2-0. Draisaitl then shot for a rebound on a two-on-one, giving Brown an easy goal in front of his 15-month-old son, Nolan, who was taking in his first NHL game.
“It’s something that’s surreal,” Brown said. “It’s something I always dreamed about. It was a pretty special day for us.”
Draisaitl was the beneficiary of a beautiful, backhanded pass from Darnell Nurse to further extend the lead before veteran Corey Perry scored from distance.
“Everything was going our way to get six goals,” Knoblauch said.
The massive margin was too big for the Golden Knights to overcome even if they chipped away at it late in the second period and early in the third.
Brett Howden pulled the Golden Knights within two goals by capitalizing on a Skinner miscue on an Oilers power play a minute into the final frame. But Jeff Skinner replied 38 seconds later, moments after Vegas returned to full strength.
That sealed the outcome.
“We’ve been talking about wanting to play good against good teams and they’re first in our division,” Nurse said. “It’s always nice to beat a division rival, but I wouldn’t say it was through-the-roof excitement.”
The Oilers have now beaten high-calibre opponents Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Vegas in succession as part of five straight victories and eight wins in their last nine games. Next up are the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, the team they lost to in the decisive Game 7.
The Oilers have that one circled on their calendar. Until then, they’re relishing knocking off the Golden Knights.
“It’s a good time for us to play these good teams because we’re playing so well,” Brown said. “It’s another good test on Monday.
“We thought we played a good game in Vegas against them and weren’t able to get on the scoresheet and lost 1-0. This was one against a divisional opponent that we’re going to see a lot.”
What’s up with Regula?
As reported by PuckPedia, defenceman Alec Regula remains on season-opening IR because he’s not fully recovered from a knee injury. The Oilers claimed Regula off waivers from the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, which provided enough reason for them to waive fellow blueliner Travis Dermott. Dermott was claimed by Minnesota on Friday.
Injured players aren’t normally permitted to be placed on waivers, but Regula, a minor leaguer all season, signed off with the intention of finishing his rehab in AHL Providence. The Oilers are eligible to rescind their claim on Regula because he’s not healthy enough to play but won’t be doing so. They’re intrigued by the 24-year-old’s skill sets and believe there’s untapped potential and more upside than Dermott, who turns 28 next week. They’re considering the long game here.
There’s no timeline for Regula being activated and he won’t be on the Oilers’ cap until he is. Offseason signee Josh Brown, recalled from AHL Bakersfield on Friday but demoted after Saturday’s win, is now the organization’s No. 7 defenceman whether he’s in Edmonton or AHL Bakersfield. Brown was called up after Bouchard missed the end of Thursday’s game in Minnesota following a hit by Wild forward Ryan Hartman late in the third period.
(Photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
