The Vegas Golden Knights will try to bounce back from their worst home loss in franchise history when they face the surging Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
Vegas, two points behind the second-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division, lost 6-0 to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night, trailing 4-0 in the first half and conceding. all six goals in the first 25 1/2 minutes. Goaltender Jaxson Stauber, making his seventh NHL start and first with Utah, made 29 saves in his first career shutout.
“This one stings a little bit,” Vegas pitcher Tanner Pearson said afterward. “Not the way we want to play at home.”
The six-goal home defeat was the heaviest in the club’s history. The team had lost by five goals at home four times before.
It was also the seventh game in 11 days for the Golden Knights, who did not arrive in Las Vegas until the morning of the Thanksgiving program after a five-game regular season road trip. The next day, Vegas turned on the nerves, fighting hard for a 4-3 overtime win over Winnipeg (which entered Monday tied for first in the Central Division) at the end of a back-to-back.
It’s no surprise, then, that the Golden Knights came out of the flat and looked tired early in the loss to Utah.
“We didn’t play well early,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We didn’t handle the puck well the first three goals. You end up rushing the game. You can’t rush the game in the National Hockey League. You’re going to catch it every once in a while … but it’s not a good way. ,so we put ourselves in a bad spot.”
“We have to find a way to start better, especially at home,” said Golden Knights veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. “It’s hard to go down 4-0 in the first, but we tried to bounce back. It’s just a big climb in this league.”
Next up is defending Western Conference champion Edmonton, who is five points behind Vegas, in what could be a four-point swing between the two teams. The Oilers, who came out of the gate with just two wins in their first seven games (2-4-1), are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and on a three-game winning streak.
The final game of Edmonton’s three-game road trip. The trip started with a 4-3 overtime win over Utah on Friday and was followed by a dramatic 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in Denver.
Stuart Skinner made 27 saves in the win over Colorado, and Vasily Podkolzin scored in his third straight game for the Oilers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored the game-winner in overtime last night in Salt Lake City, had a goal and an assist, while Kasperi Kapanen and Brett Kulak scored for Edmonton, which won its fourth in five games.
“Getting two points is huge, especially when we’re coming back,” Skinner said. “It’s hard to do.”
“It’s a good team to beat, so rest (Sunday) and finish (the road trip) in Vegas,” Podkolzin said.
After Tuesday’s game against the Golden Knights, Edmonton returns home for eight of its next nine games.
–Field Level Media
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