Chandler Stephenson scored the decisive goal, Adin Hill made 30 saves, and the Vegas Golden Knights snapped the Edmonton Oilers’ 16-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night.
Edmonton aimed to match the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the longest win streak in NHL history.
With the game tied 1-1 after two periods, Stephenson broke the deadlock less than two minutes into the third period. He received a pass from Jonathan Marchessault and fired a shot from the left circle past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner on the blocker side.
Hill was outstanding on the net, keeping the Oilers from scoring and energizing the crowd until the final whistle.
“I know they were hot with their winning streak, but I focused on playing our game and getting two points,” Hill said. “It’s a big rivalry, and winning with some key players missing is huge.”
Hill, leading the NHL in goals-against average (1.88) and save percentage (.938), made a crucial save on Leon Draisaitl’s backdoor one-timer late in the third period.
Nic Roy and William Karlsson also scored for the Golden Knights.
Skinner, who has an impressive 19-3 record in his last 22 starts, made 23 saves.
“Their goalie played well and made some big saves,” said Connor McDavid, who scored Edmonton’s goal. “It’s always tough in this building. Disappointing, but we move on. Losing reminds you how much you hate it.”
The Oilers, who began the season 3-9-1 and fired coach Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12, had turned their season around with a 13-15-1 record before their streak. Edmonton hadn’t lost since Dec. 19, improving to 29-16-1.
Under new coach Kris Knoblauch, the Oilers have an NHL-best 26-7-0 record since his first game on Nov. 13, winning 24 of their last 27 to climb to third in the Pacific Division.
“We’re back in the hunt, but not content,” said Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. “We worked hard to get here, but losing to a division rival leaves a bad taste.”
Edmonton took an early lead with a short-handed goal. After Vincent Desharnais’ poke check led to a 2-on-0 rush, McDavid scored off a pass from Draisaitl.
It was McDavid’s 10th goal and 27th point in the Oilers’ last 17 games.
Vegas tied the game when Roy scored his 10th goal of the season, snapping a rebound past Skinner.
Karlsson secured the win with an empty-net goal with 34 seconds left.
UP NEXT
- Oilers: Visit Anaheim on Friday night.
- Golden Knights: Visit Arizona on Thursday night.
