EDMONTON, Alberta — The Golden Knights entered Tuesday’s game in Edmonton as the betting underdog for just the second time this season. The linemakers, in typical fashion, had their hands on the pulse. The Knights lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games, falling 4-2 in another uninspiring effort.
The Knights offense had a little bit more juice to start the game, scoring twice within the first 26-minutes of action. Their defense, which has remained in relatively good shape during the skid, instead had their day in the dog house as they struggled to contain Edmonton’s speedy attack led by Connor McDavid. Three of Edmonton’s four goals were scored with McDavid’s line on the ice.
A first period goal by Edmonton’s Sam Gagner opened the scoring nearly 14 minutes into the game. The rest of the first period went quietly, before a Mark Stone goal knotted the festivities at 1-1 almost immediately following the intermission.
The teams would again trade goals, with former Golden Knight Mattias Janmark scoring for the Oilers and Michael Amadio scoring for the Knights. The Oilers added two more goals in the second period, with McDavid scoring one and tallying a secondary assist on the other, scored by Evander Kane.
The Knights’ improved start on the offensive end was again met with a drought. They went goalless for nearly 40 minutes of hockey, which is still better than the nearly sixty minute goalless stretch in Monday’s overtime loss to Calgary.
Tonight, however, the offense actually didn’t clock out early. They may have took a long lunch, but they showed back up for the business rush.
Ben Hutton added a goal for the Knights with 6:30 remaining in the game, bringing the Knights back within a goal. For a few minutes, it seemed like that was gonna be their last stand.
That was until Keegan Kolesar found the net with just over two minutes remaining, forcing overtime.
This time, the finish was slightly less heartbreaking than Monday’s turn of events at buzzer in Calgary. Neither team was able to end the game in overtime, but Edmonton converted twice to the Knights’ zero in the shootout and escaped with three points.
The Golden Knights are in Vancouver for a tilt against the Canucks on Friday, with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. PST.
