7 Observations: Golden Knights Meekly Collapse, Blow Multigoal Lead in Game 1

The Vegas Golden Knights learned a very, very valuable lesson on Tuesday night. This Edmonton Oilers team is far more dangerous than it has been in years before, not because of their personnel, but because of their mental toughness. No lead is safe, no game out of reach. 

The Golden Knights would do well to remember that.

If the Oilers waived the white flag after 10 minutes in the first period, the Golden Knights would have been, well, golden. But that’s not what they did. Not this time. 

Early on, everything was coming up Golden Knights. Tomáš Hertl drew a high-sticking double-minor 1:33 into the first period, and the Golden Knights capitalized on the power play and jumped out to an early lead. William Karlsson batted down Shea Theodore’s wrist shot, and Mark Stone tipped it past Calvin Pickard for the double deflection. 

The Golden Knights extended their lead at 9:03 in the first period. Jack Eichel entered the zone with speed and passed back to the trailing Mark Stone. Corey Perry slid; Stone waited him out and snapped a wrister through Calvin Pickard’s five-hole. 

The Oilers answered back at 16:26 in the first period. Leon Draisaitl entered the zone and threaded a cross-ice pass to Connor McDavid, who found Corey Perry all alone atop the crease. Perry danced around Adin Hill and slid it into the wide-open net. 

In the second period, the Oilers completely took over the game. It took the Golden Knights 9:31 to record their first shot (Kaedan Korczak), and they didn’t manage another. The Oilers swarmed and outshot them 12-1, but Adin Hill stood tall.

Read More: Kirkell: LA Overlooked the Oilers; Golden Knights Can’t Afford To

The Oilers tied it 57 seconds into the third period. Connor McDavid sped into the zone and pulled up at the right circle. He fed Evan Bouchard, but Mark Stone got a piece of Bouchard’s one-timer. The puck fluttered over Adin Hill’s glove; Leon Draisaitl backhanded a bank shot off Hill from behind the goal line, and the puck trickled into the net.

From there, the Golden Knights never regained their footing. The Oilers came in waves, controlled possession, and took the lead with 3:02 remaining in the third period. 

John Klingberg sent a stretch pass to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who entered the zone and slid the puck to Evander Kane. Kane sent a cross-ice pass to Zach Hyman, who fired a shot through Noah Hanifin and past Adin Hill’s glove.

The Oilers scored the dagger before the Golden Knights could pull Hill for the extra attacker. Evan Bouchard blocked Ivan Barbashev’s one-timer, and Connor Brown corralled the puck. He deked out Shea Theodore and beat Hill one-on-one.

Three stars of the game: Zach Hyman, Mark Stone, Leon Draisaitl

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. After a dominant first period, this was a monumental collapse by the Golden Knights. They committed a cardinal sin: they took their foot off the gas with a two-goal lead. With five straight come-from-behind wins, the Oilers have all the confidence heading into Game 2.

2. The Oilers have this uncanny ability to flip the switch and change momentum on a dime. All it takes is one goal, and they’re off to the races. On Tuesday, that happened when the McDavid line got away from the Eichel line matchup. Corey Perry’s goal was the beginning of the end for the VGK. The Oilers smelled blood in the water and entered a feeding frenzy from which the Golden Knights never recovered.

3. The Golden Knights were 26-0 when they took a multigoal lead in the postseason. Keyword: were. Now, they’re 26-1.

4. The Golden Knights wasted a really great performance from Adin Hill. The Oilers outshot them 12-1 in the second period, but because of Hill, they escaped unscathed. I’d argue that the only goal Hill should have stopped was Hyman’s game-winner.

5. This series is far from over, but the VGK need to get shots on net. They managed just 17 shots on Calvin Pickard, and 11 of those came from Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore, Mark Stone, and Victor Olofsson. Olofsson’s three shots came on the power play.

6. There’s a Pavel Dorofeyev-shaped hole in this Golden Knights team. The power play misses him badly. And Keegan Kolesar is a fantastic checking forward, but the team is much better when he’s in the bottom six.

7. Result aside, Mark Stone is on fire right now. He’s got four goals and five points in his last three games, and his defensive stick gave the Oilers fits all night. 

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