After sweeping their back-to-back over the weekend in Utah and Colorado, the Edmonton Oilers will finish this three-game road trip with a game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
1. If the playoffs were to start today, the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights host the Oilers, who currently occupy the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings. Whether it comes in the first or second round or even the Conference Finals, it feels inevitable that there’ll be an Edmonton vs. Vegas rematch in the playoffs this spring.
The Golden Knights beat the Oilers in six games in the second round of the 2022-23 playoffs en route to their first-ever Stanley Cup. Vegas finished eighth in the Western Conference in 2023-24 and lost in the first round to the Dallas Stars despite getting out to a 2-0 series lead on the road. The team will be motivated for a deep playoff run this year after their bid to win back-to-back championships came up well short of the goal.
2. This is a four-point game for Edmonton as they work to climb up the standings following their slow start. Through the first quarter-ish of the 2024-25 season, the Golden Knights are 15-7-3, two points up on the Los Angeles Kings for top spot in the Pacific Division. The Vancouver Canucks are four points back of Vegas with two games in hand and the Oilers are five points back with a game in hand.
Vegas won the first meeting between the Oilers and Golden Knights in Edmonton in early November by a score of 4-2. The Oilers scored twice in the second period and carried a 2-1 lead into the third but the Golden Knights scored three unanswered in the final 10 minutes of play to take the win. Noah Hanifin scored the game-tying goal on the power play and then buried the go-ahead goal with under one minute left on the clock and overtime right around the corner. Mark Stone scored into the empty net for some added insurance.
The two teams will meet again in Edmonton later this month and then the fourth and final regular-season game between the Oilers and Golden Knights will be in Vegas on April 1. Getting regulation wins in both games against the Golden Knights in December would go a long way in helping the Oilers catch them in the standings.
3. The Golden Knights have among the best records in the league at home this season, as they’re 9-3-0 playing at T-Mobile Arena. Playing on the road hasn’t been a disadvantage for the Oilers this year. They’ve struggled at Rogers Place with a 5-6-1 record but they’re 8-3-1 away from home.
Vegas played back-to-back games at home on Friday and Saturday and came out with a split. They beat the red-hot Winnipeg Jets and then followed that up with a 6-0 loss to the Utah Hockey Club, who were coming off an overtime loss to the Oilers the previous night. The six-goal loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Golden Knights this season.
With a win against the Golden Knights on Tuesday, the Oilers would sweep this three-game road trip before heading back to Edmonton for a stretch that’ll see them play eight of nine games at home. Currently riding a three-game winning streak, this is a prime opportunity for the Oilers to go on one of those season-changing heaters that we saw in December and January last year.
4. The goaltenders for the game are unconfirmed at this point, but it looks like we’ll see Stuart Skinner and Adin Hill between the Oilers and Golden Knights. The Edmonton native has an 8-6-2 record for the Oilers this season along with a 0.887 save percentage and 3.09 goals-against average. The Stanley Cup winner winner is 10-4-2 for the Golden Knights and has a 0.894 save percentage with a 2.84 goals-against average.
The Oilers will be without Viktor Arvidsson yet again on Tuesday as the winger remains on the shelf with an undisclosed injury and it appears Zach Hyman will also miss another game. The Golden Knights have captain Mark Stone on the Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury a few weeks ago and he won’t be in the lineup when Vegas hosts Edmonton.
