McDavid helps Oilers defeat Golden Knights

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid had three assists to extend his lead in the NHL scoring race, and the Edmonton Oilers won 4-3 against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place on Thursday.
McDavid has 106 points (41 goals, 65 assists), seven more than Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux.

"It's not over until it is over," McDavid said. "Obviously, those guys are great players, but there are still some guys with games left. We'll see."
WATCH: [All Golden Knights vs. Oilers highlights]
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored, Ty Rattie had a goal and an assist, and Cam Talbot made 30 saves for the Oilers (35-40-6), who ended a five-game losing streak (0-4-1).
Brayden McNabb, Brandon Pirri and Oscar Lindberg scored, and Malcolm Subban made 29 saves for the Golden Knights (51-23-7), who are 6-2-2 in their past 10 games and have clinched first place in the Pacific Division.
"We clinched our division a little while ago, first in the Pacific and the whole thing," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "Sometimes, it's hard to get up and I thought for the most part, the guys have done a great job. The last game in Vancouver, they played three real solid periods and played a good game, and tonight, we weren't as sharp, but still they came out and skated hard and worked hard and Edmonton played a good, solid hockey game, too. Overall, we lost the game, but I like the way the guys competed."
Michael Cammalleri gave Edmonton a 3-2 lead at 10:07 of the third period with a power-play goal.
Rattie extended the lead to 4-2 at 13:15, scoring from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from McDavid. Lindberg cut it to 4-3 at 14:37.

"It would mean more if we were in the playoffs and they weren't," Talbot said. "It is a little bit gratifying knowing you can play with some of those top teams, but obviously, we didn't play our top game enough this year to put ourselves where we want to be right now. It is bittersweet getting a big win against a team like that which is in first place in your division, but after Saturday, they keep playing and we don't."
Nugent-Hopkins scored to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 7:03 of the first period on a one-timer from in front.
McNabb tied it 1-1 at 2:00 of the second period. Pirri gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead at 4:47, scoring from the left circle on a 2-on-1. He has three goals in two games since being recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Monday.
"I think [Vegas] is so deep. Every line is going north-south, skating really well and our D move the puck, as soon as you turn up ice you're getting the puck," Pirri said. "That's what you want, and it's a lot of fun to play."
Matt Benning tied it 2-2 at 1:49 of the third period on a wrist shot from the high slot.
Talbot made a pad save on Pirri with 14 seconds left with Vegas on the power play and Subban on the bench for the extra skater.
"Their regular power play is usually pretty hot, but when they have a 6-on-4 and they have that much time and space with that much time left in the game, you know they are going to zip it around and get some pucks on net," Talbot said. "They got some good sticks and big bodies around the net, so I was just trying to stay patient and make sure I had my sightlines and make the first save and battle it out from there."

Goal of the game
Rattie's goal at 13:15 of the third period

Save of the game
Talbot's save on Pirri with 14 seconds left in the third period.

Highlight of the game
Cammalleri's goal at 10:07 of the third period.

They said it

"We're making sure Fleury is ready to play when it's ready to go. He's our No. 1 guy, it's just giving him an extra maintenance day and a day off." -- Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant on resting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for second consecutive game
"I don't think anybody is missing the fact that he's been a dominant player, night in and night out. The odd, tough game when you have to really fight through that checking line or that checking pair, but man, he's been a tremendous sparkplug for our team and most of our offense runs through him." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan on Connor McDavid

Need to know

Vegas is 20-5-3 against the Pacific Division this season but 1-2-1 against Edmonton. … McDavid has 29 three-point games in his NHL career. … Rattie has nine points (five goals, four assists) in 11 games since being recalled from Bakersfield of the AHL on March 15.

What's next

Golden Knights: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)
Oilers:Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SNP, NHL.TV)