PREVIEW: Oilers at Golden Knights

The Edmonton Oilers open their four-game road trip with a pivotal Pacific Division matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS, NV – As big a game as they come for early March.

Looking to claw their way back into the race for first place in the Pacific Division, the Edmonton Oilers will face the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night in an important four-point matchup at T-Mobile Arena as they look to kick off their four-game win streak with a victory in Sin City.

Not only are the Oilers looking to pull within two points of the Golden Knights for second place in the Pacific and three behind the Anaheim Ducks, who currently sit in top spot, but they're looking to respond from a 6-3 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday that marked their sixth defeat over their last eight games.

With plenty of playoff implications at play in Sunday's 'four-point' game, there's plenty of urgency for the Oilers to come together over this final stretch of the regular season and put together some solid efforts to secure their playoff position, starting against their rivals in a contest where the pressure will be high to earn a win on the road.

Not to mention, it won't get much easier for the rest of the road trip when they continue the gauntlet they're currently running that started on Friday at home against the Eastern Conference leaders, with their next two matches set to come against Central Division powerhouses Colorado and Dallas after they battle Vegas on Sunday.

"We need to find our game and put together wins," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "We've got 20 games left, and we're on the brink of not making the playoffs. We can't wait to find our game in the playoffs, because ultimately, we need to get there. 

"We need to find another gear."

Zach Hyman opened the scoring against the Hurricanes with his 26th goal midway through the first period to give the Oilers the lead before making it 4-3 with his 27th in the final 10 minutes of the third, but his side fell behind before the first intermission off two goals in 46 seconds and were never able to recover.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry settled in during the middle frame to make 17 of his 26 saves, but an empty-netter from Jordan Staal and another late tally from Jackson Black in the final minute added to Carolina's total despite Hyman's goal sparking a late Oilers rally.

"I thought I was a little better tonight," Jarry said. "Obviously, I think there's room to improve still. I think I could still do a better job of giving the team a chance. Some unlucky bounces here or there, but I think I could still be better."

Since securing their first three-game win streak of the season before the start of the Olympic break in late January, including wins over Anaheim and San Jose, the Oilers have lost six of their last eight while allowing an NHL-worst 4.75 goals against per game over that stretch.

That comes despite recording the fourth-best goals per game (4.13) over that span.

Luckily, the Golden Knights are in a similar spot to the Oilers after losing four of six since returning from the Olympic break, and Edmonton has won all three regular-season clashes with Vegas by a 13-8 margin with an 11-4-1 record over their last 16 meetings.

The last time the Oilers ventured into T-Mobile Arena was during Game 5 of the  Second Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 14, 2025, when Kasperi Kapanen scored the series-clinching goal at 7:19 of overtime to send the Oilers to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons.

Sunday's meeting is the second of four this season between the Oilers and Golden Knights before they meet again in Vegas on Mar. 26 and wrap up the season series back in Edmonton on Apr. 4.

The Oilers have already picked up a win over the Golden Knights, earning a 4-3 victory at Rogers Place on Dec. 21 that was powered by two goals and an assist from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins while Connor McDavid also registered a three-point night.

Ingram made 28 saves to earn that win for the Oilers and is likely to get the start again on Sunday against the Golden Knights.