Oilers defeat Golden Knights, gain in Pacific

EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman each had a goal and an assist for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan McLeod each had two assists, and Stuart Skinner made 17 saves for the Oilers (48-24-5), who have won three in a row and are 6-1-1 in their past eight games. Connor McDavid missed the game because of a lower-body injury.

“When you’re missing the best player in the world, you don’t try to replace him,” Hyman said. “Everyone as a group has to step up and play better and, collectively, I thought it was one of our better games of the season.

“Everyone was on the same page. It’s amazing when you’re connected how much faster you are as a team.”

Edmonton moved within four points of the Vancouver Canucks, who have played two more games, for first in the Pacific Division.

"You look at the score and think it's pretty lopsided in our favor, but I don't believe it was a 5-1 game,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I believe we were the better team, but [Skinner] made some key saves, especially the breakaway in the second."

Keegan Kolesar scored for the Golden Knights (42-28-8), who have lost three in a row. Adin Hill made 20 saves in his return after missing seven games because of a lower-body injury.

“Definitely second period, below the goal line breakout execution is what ended up being the difference in the game,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. “And I thought they did a great job of breaking out.

“We need to be better on the forecheck to create some anxiety for them, some turnovers, get us some chances, and to me, that was the difference in the game. They were miles ahead of us in that area.”

The Golden Knights remained one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for third in the Pacific. They are also three points ahead of the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with one game in hand.

“Yeah, there’s time. You can keep telling yourself that, but before you know it you run out of time. We saw that a couple years ago,” Kolesar said. “Right now, our game is nowhere where we need to be, and even if we were to get in, it might be a quick bounce for us out of there.”

Cody Ceci put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at 9:37 of the first period. He got to a loose puck along the right boards and shot it toward the net, where it redirected in off the skate of Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez.

“We’re in a stretch of that bad luck around the front of our net that hasn’t helped,” Cassidy said. “But we have to do a better job of taking care of business in front of the net, tying up sticks.”

Mattias Ekholm made it 2-0 at 5:38 of the second period, taking a cross-ice pass from McLeod and scoring glove side with a slap shot from the left face-off dot.

Hyman pushed it to 3-0 at 8:06 with his 53rd goal of the season. He slid in a rebound in front past the left pad of Hill.

Draisaitl made it 4-0 at 6:50 of the third period, scoring with a one-timer from the right face-off dot during a 5-on-3 power play.

On the ensuing 5-on-4 power play, Kolesar scored short-handed on a breakaway to cut it to 4-1 at 7:50.

Dylan Holloway, who was recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, made it 5-1 at 9:56. Hill left the puck behind the net for defenseman Zach Whitecloud, but Holloway got to it instead and scored on a wraparound.

“I don’t think the goalie saw me. I kind of got lucky,” Holloway said. “I was thinking to myself, ‘There’s no way he’s leaving it,’ and then it got left perfectly for me.

“That was huge. It was definitely a good bounce for me and I was pretty excited about that one.”

NOTES: Ekholm's goal was his 11th of the season, an NHL career high. ... Draisaitl has five points (two goals, three assists) during a three-game point streak.