Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Golden Knights’ offense goes cold in 4-0 loss at Edmonton

Golden Knights fall to Oilers

Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson (36) makes the save as Edmonton Oilers’ Zack Kassian (44) and Alex Pietrangelo (7) battle for the rebound during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 16, 2022 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Updated Saturday, April 16, 2022 | 4:51 p.m.

Playoff time in the NHL can be a roller coaster for teams on the outside looking in, and the Golden Knights are finding that out with each passing game.

Wins can be the euphoric drops from the highest of points, while losses equate to the ride breaking down while hanging upside down. 

Less than two days after scoring six goals in Calgary, the Golden Knights got plenty of shots but nothing past Edmonton goalie Mike Smith in a 4-0 loss to the Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday.

The other night in Calgary was deemed the Golden Knights' "best performance of the season," according to forward Jonathan Marchessault. But in another must-win game, Vegas' offense went cold. Smith made 39 saves, and the Golden Knights (41-30-5) failed to gain ground in the Pacific Division, securing just three of a possible six points on their Canadian road trip.

"We've got to regroup," said coach Pete DeBoer. "We knew we weren't going to run the table. We talked about that two weeks ago. We were going to drop some points along the way. We're still right in the thick of things."

The Golden Knights trail the Los Angeles Kings by one point for third place in the division. The Kings play later tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets at home.

Vegas will also watch intently on the Dallas Stars' battle with the San Jose Sharks, as Dallas maintains a two-point lead on the Golden Knights for the second wild-card position in the West. The Nashville Predators won earlier in the day to extend their lead to four points.

Smith recorded his second straight shutout for the Oilers, who are close to securing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. In what could be a potential first-round preview should Vegas leapfrog Los Angeles, it was the Oilers' most dominant defensive performance they've put on the Golden Knights in the past five years.

It's the first time the Oilers have ever shut out the Golden Knights, and Edmonton's defense didn't allow much of anything for Vegas. Smith turned away all five high-danger chances put his way.

"He played well," said captain Mark Stone of Smith. "But we didn't put enough pressure on him. He saw most of the pucks."

Logan Thompson, on the other hand, saw 12 high-danger chances out of his 36 shots he faced.

The score isn't an indicator of how Thompson fared in his second straight start in relief of Robin Lehner, who returned to Las Vegas to tend to a health issue involving a family member.

Despite giving up the opening goal late in the first to Kris Russell, Thompson did his part to keep it a 1-0 game after 40 minutes.

"We had a great start to the game," Stone said. "We had a lot of chances. Just didn't capitalize on them. We started to cheat a bit to find the offense and it allowed them to generate their chances."

The dam finally broke in the third period when Code Ceci scored on a screened Thompson 35 seconds into the third, followed by Warren Foegele turning an Alec Martinez turnover into a breakaway less than five minutes later to make it 3-0.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added a shorthanded goal toward the latter stages of the third for the final.

Even in his losses, Thompson has looked strong and has given the Golden Knights a chance to win. Whether or not Lehner was available for Saturday, Thompson earned the right to get the start in another crucial division game.

Except this time, the offensive support didn't follow.

"We had some really good looks offensively," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "You don't want to give up four. There are some things we're getting better at, but it's the same thing. We've got to find a way to score goals in these tough games. Teams are going to tighten up in the d-zone moving forward."

Now the attention turns back home for the Golden Knights with six games remaining in the regular season. They'll play their final three home games starting Monday against the New Jersey Devils, and realistically need to sweep the homestand in order to have a chance at the playoffs.

Any more losses might shut the coaster down completely.

"We got six games remaining. I don't know how many we're going to have to win, but it starts on Monday," Stone said. "We've got to get that one."

Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.