EDMONTON — Jonathan Marchessault had two goals and an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights emerged with a 6-3 victory over the host Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
William Karlsson, Cody Eakin, Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith also scored for the Golden Knights (9-11-1), who have won two of their last three games. Smith tacked on two assists while defenceman Colin Miller had three helpers.
Connor McDavid, Alex Chiasson and Leon Draisaitl replied for the Oilers (9-10-1), who have lost six of their last seven.
Edmonton scored just 52 seconds into the game on its first shot when McDavid tipped a Matt Benning shot that had Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury completely going in the opposite direction. It was McDavid’s 12th goal of the season.
Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
Vegas responded with seven minutes left in the opening period when Karlsson tipped a bouncing puck past Oilers starter Cam Talbot for his fifth of the campaign.
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The Oilers regained the lead with a power-play goal with three-and-a-half minutes to play in the first when Chiasson lifted in a rebound at the side of the net. It was the eighth goal in 14 games for Chiasson, who signed a contract with Edmonton after coming to the team on a training camp try-out.
The game turned on its ear early in the second period when the Golden Knights scored three goals in the span of two minutes and 12 seconds.
Vegas tied it up again when some sloppy play by the Oilers second-unit power play ended up in a short-handed goal by Eakin. The Golden Knights then got a goal on a Pacioretty shot that went in off an Oilers defender’s skate, and then a power-play marker on a screened shot from Marchessault.
Vegas added to its lead 34 seconds into the third on a redirect by Marchessault, his 10th, and piled on with another goal by Smith three minutes later.
Edmonton got one back from Draisaitl shortly after that.
The Golden Knights are in Calgary on Monday, while the Oilers begin a three-game road trip in San Jose on Tuesday.
Notes: It was the first of four meetings between the two teams this season. Edmonton won three of four games last year against the reigning Western Conference champions… Vegas defenceman Nate Schmidt made his season debut after serving a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press