Head coach Bruce Cassidy’s woes about the slow starts of the Vegas Golden Knights proved to be prophetic.
On Sunday, the Golden Knights’ push for a comeback came up just short, and the team fell to the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 to drop two games in regulation for the first time this season.
For the second straight game, the first period went opposite of the Golden Knights’ way. Connor McDavid was able to find his way on the right side and cut past everyone on defense. He found his way directly in front of Carter Hart before getting it past him for Edmonton’s first goal of the game.
The Oilers’ first power play of the game did not fare much better. A stick cutting off Jeremy Lauzon allowed a seam to open up in front of Hart. Leon Draisaitl was able to use it to find Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who doubled the lead at point blank range.
The second period did not fare much better. Another Ryan Nugent-Hopkins power play tally pushed the lead to three, and Zach Hyman capitalized on a three-on-two rush to open the lead to four goals.
Just as the Golden Knights were prepping for another blowout loss, the power play finally struck. Tomas Hertl was able to roof a puck past Connor Ingram to finally get Vegas on the board.
In the third period, the Golden Knights began to show signs of life. It started on another power play, when Pavel Dorofeyev was able to regain the team lead in goal-scoring. Finding a rebound from a point shot, Dorofeyev was able to fire one past Ingram to cut the lead down to two goals.
Just a few minutes later, the Golden Knights cashed in again. Vegas was able to win a physical battle in front of the net to keep the puck in their control, eventually finding Mitch Marner. Marner then fired it past Ingram to make it a one-goal game late.
Unfortunately, the comeback attempt came up just short, and the Golden Knights will leave Alberta empty-handed.