Edmonton Oilers

Oilers Lose Game Late to Golden Knights, Ruin McDavid’s Return

A late penalty by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins allowed the Golden Knights to score three goals in the final eight minutes and beat the Oilers 4-2.

by
Jim Parsons
November 6, 2024

The Edmonton Oilers got Connor McDavid back in Edmonton as the team took on the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night. The hope was that his early return from injury would spark the team. It did for a bit, but the Oilers let the game slip away late in the third period, allowing three goals in the final 10 minutes of the game. The result was a 4-2 loss. Unfortunately, they couldn’t even stretch the game into overtime, to squeak out a point.

McDavid looked solid in his return and seemed to be skating fairly well considering he was returning early from a foot injury. He played 21:03, so he must have felt comfortable enough being thrown right into the fire.

The goaltending was the story of the game early, as both netminders showed well. Stuart Skinner got hung out to dry at the end of the game as Noah Hanifin snuck in from the blue line for the game-winner. Skinner made some huge saves early, and the Oilers were peppering Adin Hill with shots. Unfortunately, only a deflection by Brett Kulak and a lucky bounce for Zach Hyman went past the Golden Knights goaltender.

When Vegas took the game back late in the third, they evened up the shot total and cashed in on their chances. Ivan Barbashev set up both of Vegas’ last two goals.

Big Takeaways from the Game for the Oilers

The Oilers’ penalty kill continues to be the Achilles Heel of the team. It faltered again in this game when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins took a holding penalty and Vegas scored with 27 seconds remaining in their power play. Their kill is now 59.5% on the season.

Nugent-Hopkins was asked about his personal game. He said he’s getting his looks and creating stuff, but it’s not going on. “It’s not the first time I’ve been through stretches like this.” He said he can only keep working and work his way through it.

The Oilers should have been able to scrape a point out of this game. Up 2-1 with eight minutes remaining, they stopped skating and didn’t finish their chances.

Troy Stecher left the game after blocking a shot. It didn’t look good as he needed help to get to the locker room. There was no immediate update on his condition after the game.

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