Great Third Period Comeback: Golden Knights Fall 5-4 to the Edmonton Oilers in the Shootout

The Vegas Golden Knights battled back to steal a point in the shootout loss against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night.

The game within the game: The Golden Knights were facing another goalie with a sub .900 SV/% in Stuart Skinner. Could the Golden Knights find a path to scoring three or more goals and would it be enough to beat an Oilers team that is starting to play a bit better?

First period: This was not the expected first period from two teams that had an intense playoff series six months ago. There was not a lot of hitting and no post-whistle scrums. Alex Pietrangelo was booed every time he touched the puck. The Oilers fanbase did not forget about his slash on Leon Draisaitl last May.

Sam Gagner scored the period’s only goal for the Oilers with just over six minutes remaining. Brett Howden lost a defensive zone faceoff. Gagne fired a shot from between the boards and the edge of the faceoff circle closest to the boards. Logan Thompson had no issue seeing the puck but he failed to make the save. Certainly one of those goals that a goalie would like to have back.

There was a frustrating moment for coach Cassidy and the Golden Knights just under seven minutes into the period. Alex Pietrangelo drew a high sticking penalty that would have given the Golden Knights a powerplay, however, during a line chance too many players jumped the boards nullifying the powerplay.

Second period: The second period was a high-event period that featured a combined five goals. Mark Stone scored just over a minute into the period off a deflected shot from Kaeden Korczak. Mattias Janmark was rewarded for being in the right place at the right time. Thompson saved a shot from the point that bounced off Janmark. Korczak failed to clear Janmark from the top of the crease. Michael Amadio tied the game with just under six minutes into the period off a busted play on an offensive zone faceoff. The Oilers blew the cover off the draw and Amadio found himself all alone in front of Stuart Skinner.

The Oilers’ third goal was a bit of bad luck for the Golden Knights. Nicolas Hague joined the rush during a four-on-four. Chandler Stephenson fired a shot that rimmed around the boards. Stone failed to stop the puck and Zach Whitecloud was caught too deep. Connor McDavid was alone from the redline and Thompson was drawing dead. Evander Kane extended the Oilers’ lead to two during a power play with just under three minutes remaining in the period. Thompson saved a shot from the point and Pietrangelo was a passenger as Kane finished off the rebound from the top of the crease.

Third period: It did not seem like the Golden Knights would be able to come back from a multi-goal deficit. The Golden Knights had just one shot through 13 minutes of the period. Ben Hutton found a loose puck from the top of the left circle and was able to beat Skinner. The Golden Knights had some life and called on, who else but, Keegan Kolesar to tie the game up. Kolesar positioned himself just outside the crease and batted a puck out of mid-air from Zach Whitecloud to tie the game with just over two minutes to play.

The Golden Knights climbed what seemed like an impossible hill to send the game to overtime.

Turning point: The Golden Knights stuck to the plan as Hutton eluded to in the post game. Hutton’s goal gave the Golden Knights confidence which sparked the comeback.

Overtime: The overtime was a lot of low-event hockey, especially considering the level of talent on both teams. The extra period’s best chance came with seconds remaining on the clock. Edmonton had a two-on-one that looked like it was on it’s way in, but Thompson got a small piece of the puck to send the game to the shootout.

Shootout: The Oilers activated a cheat code to start the shootout. McDavid scored the first, and what would be the deciding goal, of the shootout. Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel failed to score on their chances.

Key storyline: The Golden Knights played 53 minutes of not-so-great hockey. The late comeback, and the fact that two goals to complete the comeback came from players scoring their first goals of the year, will give the Golden Knights motivation heading to Vancouver. It would be big if the Golden Knights can come away with four points in a tough Canadian road trip.

Quotable: “These points matter. Even when you’re not playing your best hockey, you got to bank points. We should feel good about what happened, now we got to put two and two together and get both the offense and defense going together.” Stone after the game.

“It feels more than just a single point.” Coach Cassidy on the comeback. “How we tied it was excited for me, it was our third and fourth line that scored.”

Next up: The Golden Knights end the three-game Canadian road trip against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.