For the first time this season, the Edmonton Oilers have won the second game of a back-to-back.

On Sunday evening, the Oilers hosted the Vegas Golden Knights, defeating their Pacific Division rivals 4-3. They nearly blew a four-goal lead, but were able to hold on to secure Connor Ingram his first Oilers win. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.

Midway through the first period, the Oilers got on the board first. Leon Draisaitl found Connor McDavid with speed, as the best player of all-time burnt a Golden Knights defender and slid it past Carter Hart to make it 1-0.

The Oilers made it 2-0 with just over five minutes left in the period. On their first power play of the game, Draisaitl made a beautiful cross-ice pace to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who came in late and undetected. It was an easy tap in for the longest-tenured Oiler, as they went into the first intermission up by two.

Moving to the second period, the Oilers found themselves on their second power play of the game. Nugent-Hopkins scored his second of the game, as Hart departed his crease for some reason, allowing McDavid to slide it over to Nugent-Hopkins on the side of the net for what was essentially an empty-net goal.

The scoring kept coming. Midway through the second period on a rush chance, Hart once again left the crease being far too aggressive, which allowed Darnell Nurse to find a trailing Zach Hyman. He’s not going to miss from the slot, as he backhanded it past Hart for a 4-0 lead.

With seven minutes left in the second period, the Golden Knights got on the board thanks to a power play goal. It was just a good shot from Tomáš Hertl to beat Connor Ingram. On another power play four minutes into the third period, Pavel Dorofeyev pounced on a rebound beside the net to beat Ingram, cutting the Oilers lead in half.

The Golden Knights’ momentum continued, as Hertl put the puck to the front of the net, with Mitch Marner being the first to get his stick on it. Suddenly, it became a very close game, as the Golden Knights were the much better team after the Oilers’ fourth goal. Thankfully, the Oilers were able to hold on.

Connor Ingram was solid in net, stopping 26 of 29 shots for an .897 save percentage. He made a few big saves and didn’t have much of a chance on any of the goals. More importantly, he made his Oilers debut and played in his first game since Feb. 22. Mental health is no joke, so it’s good to see him back on the ice.

With a goal and two assists, Connor McDavid has extended his point streak to 10 games, where he has 12 goals and 26 points. With the three points, McDavid has taken over the sole lead for the most points in the National Hockey League, as Nathan MacKinnon only had two points on Sunday evening.

By the same token, Leon Draisaitl’s goalless streak has now reached eight games, the most games he’s gone without a goal since the 2020-21 season. Late in the third period, he had a gaping net on the power play, but sent it wide. In those eight games, Draisaitl has 15 assists, so nearly two points per game.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is quietly putting together one of his best seasons in the league. He scored twice and picked up an assist, giving him 10 goals and 30 points in just 28 games this season. That backdoor play on the power that got the Oilers their first goal, where he comes in late, is money.

Aside from those three, the other Oiler to get a point was Zach Hyman, who scored a goal and picked up an assist. Darnell Nurse and Alec Regula each picked up an assist, but it was another rough game for that pairing.

Speaking of rough games, that was a pretty tough one for Andrew Mangiapane, who took two hooks in the first period. It’s rather unfortunate, as he’s been playing much better as of late. Aside from Max Jones, Mangiapane played the fewest minutes of any Oiler.

This was the first time all season that the Oilers have won the second game of a back-to-back, as they are now 1-3-3 in that scenario. More importantly, the Oilers now have 42 points, just like the Golden Knights, albeit with three more games played.

There’s just one more game before the holiday break, as the Oilers welcome the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at 7:00 PM MT. The last time the two Albertan teams met in the season opener, the Oilers blew a three goal lead.