The Edmonton Oilers began a four-game Western Conference road swing Tuesday night (April 1) against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the final meeting of the season between these two Pacific Division rivals, with the Golden Knights leading the season series 2-1.
Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Golden Knights — 4/1/25
The Oilers came into this game in third place in the Pacific Division with 89 points and trailing the second-place Los Angeles Kings by two points. They boasted a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games before this one.
The Golden Knights cruised into this one in first place in the Pacific Division with 98 points and a 7-1-2 record in their previous 10 games. They held a firm seven-point lead over the Kings for the top spot when the night began.
The Oilers won this one by a score of 3-2. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
The game started with a Zach Hyman goaltender interference penalty that amounted to nothing for the Golden Knights. However, shortly after the power play expired, Vegas forward Nicolas Roy hammered home his 12th of the season. It took the Oilers nearly seven minutes to register their first shot on goal as the Golden Knights controlled most of the play early on. However, the last roughly 13 minutes of the period were filled with quiet, turnover-filled hockey. The Golden Knights held a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission, with the shots 10-4 in their favour.
The second period started out with a bang for Edmonton as Jake Walman potted his first as an Oiler on a beautiful slapshot from the point just 19 seconds in. The majority of the period was similar to the first, filled with lots of end-to-end action but no scoring. However, the Golden Knights fell into some penalty trouble late in the frame and Edmonton cashed in. Leon Draisaitl buried a nice feed from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a 5-on-3 to take the lead. And it was shortly after the expiration of the two Vegas penalties that Viktor Arvidsson overpowered the defence and goaltender Adin Hill to extend the Oilers’ lead. Despite a coach’s challenge from the Golden Knights, the goal stood, and Edmonton carried a 3-1 advantage into the second intermission. They led on the shot board as well, 15-14.
The final 20 minutes kicked off with a Vegas goal, courtesy of a laser from Pavel Dorofeyev to cut into the Edmonton lead. Dorofeyev narrowly missed tying the game later on when he missed a wide-open net on a rebound. Edmonton played solid defence throughout the rest of the period, due in part to some big saves from goalie Calvin Pickard. The Golden Knights eventually pulled their goalie with 1:53 to play, and called a timeout with 19.1 seconds left, however, it was not enough to solve the stout Oilers defence. Edmonton held on to win 3-2, with Vegas leading on the shot board 22-20.
The win by the Oilers snaps a six-game win streak by the Golden Knights and keeps Edmonton in the Pacific Division race for one of the two top spots. A couple of notable performances in this one include Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard with a pair of assists, as well as Dorofeyev for Vegas with one goal and one assist.
The Oilers’ next game is on Thursday, April 3, when they visit the struggling San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center starting at 8:30 p.m. MDT.
The Golden Knights’ next game is also on Thursday, April 3, as they finish off their short two-game homestand against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets starting at 8 p.m. MDT.
