Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
Just the facts: Edmonton Oilers 3 Vegas Golden Knights 2
VGK goal scorers: Chandler Stephenson (8), Reilly Smith (9)
Storyline: Knights spotted Edmonton a 3-0 lead and played well afterwards but couldn’t climb out of the hole.
Attendance: 18,381
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The Knights returned to their home ice and there were two old new faces — Jonathan Marchessault, out with COVID-19 protocol, and Max Pacioretty, out with a foot problem.
The Oilers took over the game in the latter stages of the first period after the Golden Knights had some decent scoring chances on Edmonton goaltender Mikko Koskinen. Pacioretty was firing away on a power play, but couldn’t register a goal.
The Oilers went up 2-0 late in the first with goals by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
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The Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi padded the lead to 3-0 in the middle stanza before the VGK’s Chandler Stephenson scored Vegas’ first of the evening mid-way through period two.
Both goalies, Robin Lehner for the VGK and Koskinen for Edmonton. played well.
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Reilly Smith notched a goal in the third period, and the Edmonton lead was sliced to 3-2.
But the Golden Knights could not tally the equalizer.
The Knights are 12-9 and trail first place Edmonton by six points. The Oilers are 15-5 and leapfrogged over Calgary into first in the Pacific Division. The Jets play the Flames later.
Our mask-free fan of the night during the state’s indoor mask mandate period is this fella.