The Edmonton Oilers won their third in a row, scoring a 4-3 road win over the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday night.
“I think we’re finding our game a little bit; finding our identity as a team,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “I think guys individually are starting to slot into where they’re most successful and that obviously goes a long way. So, it was a good effort again. I think we’ve been playing some good hockey lately, so just got to continue that.”
It didn’t take long for the Oilers to grab the lead. Mattias Janmark beat Logan Thompson on a breakaway only 45 seconds into the game. Just 51 seconds later, Leon Draisaitl batted a rebound out of the air and in for his 25th of the season and a 2-0 Oilers lead. Keegan Kolesar put Vegas on the board late in the first. After an extended goal mouth scramble, he banked the puck off Jack Campbell from behind the net.
Draisaitl struck again in the second, shooting and scoring from the right side on two-on-one. Paul Cotter banged in the loose puck after Byron Froese hit the post, but Klim Kostin quickly restored the Oilers two-goal advantage with his ninth only 19 seconds later. William Karlsson tallied in the final minute of the second to cut Edmonton’s lead to 4-3.
The Oilers held the Golden Knights at bay for the majority of the third period to close out the win
“I saw Klim Kostin diving in front of shots, I saw Derek Ryan working back on a penalty kill to negate a sure goal at our net, I saw Leon Draisaitl get a finished check on their best defenceman in Alex Pietrangelo,” head coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game. “So, when we have that type of competitive will about the team I think it’s contagious and we’re starting to see some results.”
Campbell made 27 saves to improve his record to 12-8-1. Janmark had a goal and an assist. Zach Hyman had two assists.
The Oilers, 24-18-3, will host Seattle on Tuesday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m., game at 7 p.m.).