Golden Knights Blank Oilers 1-0

In a huge divisional contest, the Vegas Golden Knights (16-7-3) defeated the Edmonton Oilers (13-10-2) 1-0 on Tuesday night (Dec. 3). This was a defensive battle that gave off playoff vibes, with some exceptional goaltending. Here’s your quick game recap:

Game Recap

The first period was extremely tight-checking and low event, which resulted in a measly 5-3 shot advantage for the Golden Knights. However, despite this low-event hockey, Vegas opened the scoring 10:47 into the opening frame on a goal by Ivan Barbashev. Edmonton had Vegas hemmed in their own zone, but Leon Draisaitl turned the puck over at the offensive blue line which led to a 2-on-1 the other way. Barbashev tried to feed the puck through a sliding Evan Bouchard, however it was blocked, so he got his own rebound and fooled Stuart Skinner for his 13th goal of the season. This wound up being the only goal of the game.

The middle frame was more entertaining. There was a stretch of back-and-forth action that saw some good goaltending. Skinner made a great glove save off the stick of Tomas Hertl, and Adin Hill had some great saves to keep Edmonton off the board. Therefore, the Golden Knights maintained their one-goal lead heading into the final period.

The Oilers tried to push back for the equalizer in the third period, but it wasn’t meant to be. Hill robbed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in tight with just under two minutes remaining to secure the victory. Edmonton outshot Vegas 16-2 in the final period.

Skinner wasn’t busy in the Oilers’ net, stopping 15 of 16 shots for a .938 save percentage (SV%). At the other end, Hill was spectacular in this one, stopping all 28 shots he faced.

It’s a short turnaround for the Golden Knights as they are in Anaheim to take on the Ducks on Wednesday night (Dec. 4) in the second half of a back-to-back. Meanwhile, the Oilers return home for a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night (Dec. 5). These two rivals don’t have to wait long for their next meeting as Vegas is in Edmonton for a matinee on Dec. 14.