Nic Roy scores OT game winner in Edmonton

It was certainly a playoff-like atmosphere in Edmonton and the game itself lived up to its billing as the Vegas Golden Knights won a nail-biter in overtime. The overtime goal was scored by Nic Roy. With the goal by Roy, the Golden Knights not only swept the three game Canadian Western swing, including a hard earned win over the Calgary Flames. They also became the first team in NHL history to start four different goalies in four straight games and win them all.

Eichel and Dorofeyev strike for key goals in first

Laurent Brossoit got the start in net after Logan Thompson left the game against the Calgary Flames. After a pair of faceoffs, Jack Eichel with a minute gone by, scored his 27th goal of the season on the first shot of the game for either team. It was assisted by Ivan Barbashev and Jonathan Marchessault.  Coming off a faceoff and a takeaway from Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman would connect for his 31st goal of the season to tie the game at one a piece just 3:28 into the game.  The Hyman goal is also Edmonton’s first shot of the game.

Brossoit would make a pair of big saves with 12:51 left in the period off the sticks of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard but on the play, Phil Kessel was called for interference giving the Oilers the first power play of the game. Brossoit was there to stop three huge shots by the Oiler offense as the Golden Knights killed off the penalty.

With 8:25 left, Evander Kane launched a huge shot but Brossoit was able to cover it up. The Golden Knights would get their first power play opportunity as Kailer Yamamoto was called for holding the stick against Nic Roy with 5:15 left in the period. Right off the faceoff on the start of the power play, Barbashev got a shot that smacked the crossbar. Keeping the pressure on, Pavel Dorofeyev shot one past Stuart Skinner for a power play goal. At 18:27,  Dorofeyev’s fifth goal of the season gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 first period lead.

Golden Knights 2, Oilers 1 – 1st Intermission

The Breakdown..

Pavel Dorofeyev is playing on another level. It is his world and we just live in it. What a great period of hockey by both teams. Scoring on the first shot of the game for both teams certainly gives you a lesson on what great teams are capable of. The rest of the game should be very interesting. Laurent Brossoit deserve a lot of credit keeping the game in Vegas’s favor.

Draisaitl evens the game with a power play goal

The Oilers and Golden Knights spent the majority of the first three minutes skating in the Oilers offensive zone. Zach Whitecloud created a solid opportunity and a shot on goal with 16:41 to go in the period but Skinner was able to make the stop. McNabb had a great chance a minute later but again, Skinner was there.

The Oilers would get their second power play of the night with 9:51 left as Shea Theodore was called for holding on Devin Shore. The Oilers didn’t waste time as Draisaitl tied it 21 seconds later. It is Draisaitl’s 45th goal of the sseason and was assisted by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard. A couple minutes later Michael Amadio launched one that almost got past Skinner.

Lots of skating around for both teams in the period and some easy saves for both Skinner and Brossoit.

Golden Knights 2, Oilers 2 – 2nd Intermission

The Breakdown…

Eventually Draisaitl and McDavid will get their shots and opportunities. The Golden Knights are doing a fantastic job limiting them overall. Unfortunately, a power play was the key to the second period as Draisaitl tied it at two goals a piece. Third period should be action packed. Laurent Brossoit is playing out of his mind all things considered.

Oilers get even to force overtime

The Golden Knights in the first three minutes did a great job keeping the puck in the offensive zone, Creating some great chances. Blueger and Marchessault gave the fans in Edmonton some heart stopping moments early on in the period. In the first six minutes of the period, the Golden Knights outshot the Oilers 7-1.

With 13:03 left, Marchessault would get one past Skinner to make the score a 3-2 affair with the Golden Knights getting a critical go ahead goal. It is Marchessault’s 24th goal of the season with Eichel getting his 30th assist of the year. Ekholm less than two minutes later, nearly tied it but Brossoit continues to be clutch.

Warren Foegele would score a game tying goal with 8:41 to go. A couple minutes after that, with 6:47 left, the Golden Knights got another power play opportunity as Ekholm was called for holding on Karlsson. The Oilers would eventually kill it off as the Golden Knights did not get a shot off. With 1:39 left, Phil Kessel and Vincent Desharnais were sent to the box for roughing making it a four on four affair the remainder of regulation.

Nic Roy with the game winner!

The overtime began as a standard three on three for the first 21 seconds and then converted to a four on four. Just 15 seconds in McDavid got his shot in but Brossoit was able to make a quick save. A minute later, Kane found another Oiler scoring chance but was wide of the net. After the two sides traded possession, Eichel got a shot off with 2:41 left but was stopped by Skinner. Then seconds later, Nic Roy bounces the puck into the net for the game winner.

Game Notes

• The win gives the Golden Knights a record of 46-21-6 with 98 points. They are four pointss ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the Pacific Division lead.
• Laurent Brossoit stopped 27 of 30 shots he faced. The Golden Knights over the last four games have played four different goaltenders and have won all four games, which the first time the feat has been accomplished in NHL history.
• Next up: The Golden Knights will face the same Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at home in Las Vegas. The Oilers have a game in Arizona before making their Vegas stop.
• If the playoffs were to start after the day’s action, the Golden Knights would get the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. The Central Division leading Minnesota Wild would draw the Seattle Kraken in the first round.

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