Golden Knights Unable To Mount Comeback Against Oilers

The Vegas Golden Knights (28-14-2, 58 points) have lost another game in their reverse retro jerseys and at home, on a Saturday night (1-6-0 this season) as they were defeated 4-3 by the Edmonton Oilers (23-18-3, 51 points)

The Oilers scored two goals in the opening two minutes, but the Golden Knights pushed back and did not go away. A strong defensive third period by the Oilers sealed their victory. The 

Mark Stone, who is out with an upper-body injury, did not play, and Byron Froese got into the lineup. Logan Thompson started. 

Here's how it went down.

FIRST PERIOD

• Byron Froese drew into the Golden Knights lineup with Mark Stone injured. He centered the third line between Paul Cotter and Michael Amadio.
• 1-0 EDM GOAL- Just 46 seconds into the game, former Vegas Golden Knight Mattias Janmark scored on a wrist shot.
• 1-0 EDM GOAL- Not long after, Connor McDavid's rebound went to Leon Draisaitl, and he scored.
• Connor McDavid was sprung on a breakaway, but Logan Thompson came up with a huge save.
• VGK PP- Paul Cotter was hit with a high stick by Vincent Desharnais, and the Golden Knight's powerplay hit the ice.
• EDM PP- Will Carrier tripped up Dylan Holloway, and then got into a minor scrum with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
• The Golden Knight's fourth line took it upon themselves to get the game going for the VGK. 
• Keegan Kolesar crushed Leon Draisaitl with a big hit and then went on to score in the same shift.
• 2-1 VGK GOAL- After a long net-mouth scrum, Keegan Kolesar banked in a goal from below the goal line on Jack Campbell.

SECOND PERIOD

• Bruce Cassidy shuffled up his lines, reuniting the Misfit Line and putting Phil Kessel on the third line with Byron Froese and Paul Cotter.
• Mattias Janmark had two high-quality chances on Logan Thompson. One of his shots hit the inside of the right post and bounced out.
• 3-1 EDM GOAL- The Golden Knights gave up a 3-on-1 to Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, and Connor McDavid with only Kaedan Korczak back.
• The Golden Knights struggled to get any offensive momentum going as time continued to tick off the clock.
• 3-2 VGK GOAL- That changed with a big shift from the third line as Paul Cotter scored after Byron Froese hit a post.

• 4-2 EDM GOAL- Just 19 seconds later, Klim Kostin scored for the Oilers, and the Golden Knights took two steps back after taking a step forward.
• VGK PP- Reilly Smith worked hard in the corner and got Tyson Barrie to take a hooking penalty.
• 4-3 VGK GOAL- The Misfit Line had a couple of nice chances off the rush, and William Karlsson scored on a one-timer from Jonathan Marchessault.

THIRD PERIOD

• Jack Eichel had the puck come to him right at the goal mouth by Darnell Nurse made a big defensive play to negate his chance.
• The Golden Knights turned the puck over to Jesse Puljujarvi, but Logan Thompson came up with a big save.
• Jack Eichel turned the puck over to Zach Hyman, who skated in on Logan Thompson for a nice shot opportunity, but he missed the net.
• Will Carrier left the Golden Knights bench midway through the third period.
• William Karlsson collected a puck in the slot and fired off a shot high on Jack Campbell.
• The Oilers did a good job defending their lead with a strong defensive performance in the third.
• Logan Thompson was pulled with about a minute and a half remaining for the extra attacker.
• But the Golden Knights ran out of time.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES

• The Golden Knights looked like they were asleep early in the game, with awful defensive coverage and two goals against in two minutes.
• Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain two of the most dangerous players in the entire sport of hockey.
• Head coach Bruce Cassidy shuffled up his line combinations in the second period and reunited the Misfit Line. They went on to score a big goal late in the period, proving that it is never a bad option to go back to that line when push comes to shove.
• Keegan Kolesar had another impressive game with a goal and seven hits. He now has six points in his last six games played.
• In due to Mark Stone's injury, Byron Froese had a strong game with a lot of offensive zone chances and an assist.

VHN's Player of the Game: Byron Froese

He wasn't Mark Stone, but he played one heck of a game being thrown into the lineup. He finished the night with an assist in just over 11 minutes of ice time.

Up Next: The Golden Knights will have an afternoon game on Martin Luther King Monday at 3:00 pm against Peter DeBoer and the Dallas Stars.