GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Golden Knights 3

EDMONTON, AB – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman each had multi-point nights, while goaltender Connor Ingram made 26 saves to secure his first victory for the Edmonton Oilers, who held on to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 at Rogers Place on Sunday night.

Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on the power play to reach double-digit goals this season before adding his 20th assist of the year on Zach Hyman's ninth goal of the campaign that came less than eight minutes into the second period, making it 4-0 before the Golden Knights battled back with three straight goals.

Tomas Hertl tallied on the man advantage with 7:01 left in the second period to get the Golden Knights on the board, then Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner scored 1:57 apart in the final frame, but the Oilers defended heroically in front of Ingram with the Vegas net empty to earn the win over their Pacific rivals.

"That's a good team," Nugent-Hopkins said. "They had a push and we found a way to manage it. On the other side of it, to push them back is important; to kind of stay on the gas is going to be key in those situations. But Ingram was huge, and we found a way."

Ingram picked up the win in his Oilers' debut that came 48 hours after being called up from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors to replace the injured Tristan Jarry, recording his first NHL victory since Feb. 22, 2025, when he was a member of the formerly-named Utah Hockey Club.

"It's been hectic, but at the end of the day, no matter what level you're in, my job is to stop the puck," Ingram said. "I don't have to learn a forecheck or things like that. My job never changes. So the guys did a great job making me feel welcome and showing me everything I need to know, and it's been great."

Nugent-Hopkins finished with two goals and an assist, while McDavid extended his point streak to an incredible 10 games, totalling 12 goals and 13 assists, after scoring his 12th goal in 10 games and adding a helper.

Draisaitl followed suit with two assists to push his point streak to four, with the German tabulating nine helpers over that span.

The Oilers will face the Calgary Flames in the Battle of Alberta on Tuesday at Rogers Place before the Holiday Break, followed by their return to action with another rivalry rematch against their provincial foes at Scotiabank Saddledome on Dec. 27.

FIRST PERIOD

Home for the holidays with AUTHORITY.

Things were heating up quickly for the Oilers on home ice in the first of two games at Rogers Place before the Holiday Break on Sunday after returning from their previous five-game road trip, and nearly every facet of their game found a way to contribute to give them a 2-0 lead on Vegas through 20 minutes.

With both sides playing the second of a back-to-back this weekend, the Oilers turned to newcomer Connor Ingram to make his first start between the pipes for the club because of the injury to Tristan Jarry on Friday that put him on IR, and his first save on Pavel Dorofeyev in the game's early going helped settle the 28-year-old into the crease for his first NHL start since Feb. 22 as a member of the Utah Mammoth.

"I blacked out there," Ingram joked. "I don't remember what happened. I remember doing it, but after that, not much."

The Oilers also received Jack Roslovic back into their lineup following his 11-game injury absence, recording his side's first shot of the night on the next rush up ice alongside his previous linemates Vasily Podkolzin and Leon Draisaitl, with whom he had plenty of success before his injury, scoring 12 of his 18 points in 23 games this season coming at even strength.

Zach Hyman was inches from giving the Oilers an early lead a few minutes later when his redirection at the back post on Darnell Nurse's low feed went square off the iron, giving the Golden Knights and netminder Carter Hart an early let-off before McDavid was able to extend his point streak to double digits by opening the scoring at 9:11 of the frame.

McDavid was looking dangerous on Edmonton's first penalty kill that went 3-for-3 in the opening period before he loaded up alongside Leon Draisaitl at even strength before the period's midway mark to extend his point streak to 10 games with his impressive 12th goal in his last 10 games.

Draisaitl tossed a lateral pass to McDavid crossing into the Vegas zone for the captain to pick up the puck with speed, round a Golden Knights' defender and wrap it around Carter Hart inside the post and under his skate to open the scoring with his 23rd goal of the campaign.

McDavid's 10-game point streak of 12 goals and 13 assists is the longest active streak in the NHL with the highest production of 25 points.

Draisaitl's primary assist extended the German's own assist streak to four games, and Alec Regula now has three helpers over his last four games thanks to his secondary assists after going pointless in his first 18 games of the season.

After another assured penalty kill from the Oilers, their power play went to work for the first time on Sunday over three-and-a-half minutes after McDavid opened the scoring. Nugent-Hopkins made it 2-0 off Draisaitl's cross-crease pass that the club's longest-tenured forward put away at the back post.

Draisaitl has been the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season, posting 10 assists over his last four games thanks to his second assist.

Another successful kill before the intermission saw the Oilers maintain their 2-0 lead, with Ingram stopping all seven shots he faced, the penalty kill going 3-for-3 and both McDavid & Draisaitl having multi-point efforts secured through 20 minutes against their Pacific Division rivals.

SECOND PERIOD

More of the same, please.

Nugent-Hopkins was well on his way to another terrific game in Blue & Orange on Sunday when he reached double-digit goals this season with his second power-play tally of the evening just 2:22 into the middle frame, with a helper later in the period giving 'the Nuge' 14 points (5G, 9A) over his last 11 games.

Draisaitl had a chance to the side of the Vegas crease that was stopped in close by Hart before he backhanded it in front to McDavid, who quickly moved it to the opposite side to Nugent-Hopkins for an easy finish that made it 3-0 for the Oilers, scoring on the man advantage for the second time tonight.

McDavid grabbed his third point with an assist, while Hyman recorded a helper before he was able to make it 4-0 over five minutes later at even strength.

The Oilers won the puck below their own goal line before the puck was moved up to Zach Hyman for a fast breakout, where Darnell Nurse dropped it back to Hyman in the slot coming over the blueline, and the winger made no mistake at full speed to backhand it past Hart for the four-goal advantage.

Nugent-Hopkins' primary helper gave him three points on Sunday and was also his 20th assist of the campaign.

But the Golden Knights were able to get themselves on the board by breaking Edmonton's resilient penalty kill at 7:01 of the frame, making it 4-1 on a snipe from Tomas Hertl in the slot after Adam Henrique was called for high-sticking before making things interesting over the final 20 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

The lead wasn't easy to defend in the third period, but the Oilers got the job done thanks in large part to Ingram between the pipes.

The Golden Knights struck twice 1:57 apart in the opening six minutes of the frame – once on the power play through Pavel Doroveyev and again less than two minutes later from Mitch Marner – to make it 4-3 for the Oilers after the hosts were looking in control over the previous 40 minutes of action.

"There should be a lot of credit to the Knights on how well they played in the second half of the game," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "But I also think we let our foot off the gas a little bit in the second period. We weren't driving the puck in deep, we were laying up and trying to make plays that got picked off, and then we just had to defend a lot. And if you defend that much, you're gonna end up giving opportunities."

Knoblauch called a timeout that seemed to settle his group down, leading to the Oilers locking it down defensively and having the chance to get the insurance goal they desperately wanted when Brett Howden went to the box for high-sticking with six-and-a-half left in regulation.

Draisaitl had a wide-open net on the right side on the ensuing man advantage, but the German sent it straight through the crease before holding his head to the sky over what could've been after his miss, leading to the Oilers having to defend for their lives in the final few minutes when Vegas pulled their goalie.

On the six-on-four, both Darnell Nurse and Spencer Stastney made terrific interventions by getting their sticks into the path of Vegas' attempts at a cross-ice one-timer with the extra man, allowing the Oilers to escape against their Pacific Division rivals with the 4-3 victory that ties them in the standings.

"I think I had a lot of help today," Ingram said. "Nurse breaks one up there at the end of the game. That's an empty net if he doesn't, so it's not just me. I thought all of us played well, and I think save percentage is a team stat. So when we do a job like we did today, it makes my job easier. I thought it was a great effort from top to bottom."

The Oilers were outshot 12-3 by the Golden Knights, with Ingram stopping 10 in the final frame to lock down his victory in his return to an NHL crease.

"There were a lot of days I didn't think it'd ever happen again," he said post-game. "It's just the truth of it. In this world, it's a competitive game, and there are 64 spots to do this, so you don't take it for granted. Any day you're up here, it's a huge honour."

"I've been through enough to know that the sun's coming up tomorrow. No matter what happens in this life, I have a wife and a family that loves me, and that's all that really matters. At the end of the day, you want to win hockey games, but there's a lot more to life than just hockey."