Recap: The Golden Knights were trying to begin their homestand with a win over the incoming Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton struck first on an early game power play and took a 1-0 edge into the opening intermission.
Vegas captain Mark Stone evened the score four minutes into the middle frame. Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid regained his team’s lead a few shifts later. Stone again tied the game with his 23rd tally of the season. However, Edmonton snapped the tie and took their third lead of the game. After 40, the visitors held a 3-2 advantage.
Minutes into the final frame, Ivan Barbashev scored his 21st goal of the season to tie the game 3-3. Eventually the Oilers won the game in overtime.
The Golden Knights record drops to 32-26-15 falling to the Oilers 4-3 in OT. Next, Vegas will welcome the Washington Capitals for a matchup on Saturday night. Puck drop against the Capitals is scheduled for 730PM PT.(Recap by Jason)
Analysis: An extremely intense game between a pair of teams that have had all sorts of troubles avoiding giving up dangerous chances. Both teams had excellent looks, and oddly enough, each team converted a big one moments after the other team missed one. After 60, both teams we happy with their single point. VGK squandered a power play in OT and paid for it moments later. 15th loser point of the season. (Analysis by Ken)
Upcoming stories from the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers at T-Mobile Arena.
- Playoff Picture daily update is coming
Ken’s Three VGK Stars
*** Tomas Hertl
** Ivan Barbashev
* Mark Stone
Richie-Rich
Game 73 Analysis EDM 4, VGK 3 OTL
These games are almost too predictable. Fall behind, chase, catch up and lose or get a loser point. Not enough offense, not enough defense and not enough goaltending.
Summary: Not Enough
Logan Thompson coming back to the Fortress.
Frank
The one and largely only reason we fall behind is poor goaltending. That is all.
Hdbiker7851
Hill tonight Vegas goalies period – the Achilles heels of this team. Regardless whether they score or don’t it’s a save bet the Vegas goalies will let in one more.
Frank
At what point can we actually start placing the blame squarely on goaltending for this season???????? Cmaon man. It’s painfully obvious. We lost this game and others (basically the majority of the OT losses) squarely on goaltending. It matters. It’s sometimes the only position that matters. I don’t care how good your team is. If your goaltenders suck, then you’re not very good. Period. Ask Edmonton .
Martin
Goaltending sucks but we can’t score either. I wouldn’t have given that contract to Hill but I guess our management was smoking dope on that one . However, Marner and Eichel have ONE assist total between them in the last 6 games. 20 million annually and one assist is not any better than Hill’s $6.5 and plus 3 GA.
JB
I’m sorry, but, FUUUUUUCK!!!! Also, I wish somebody would knock the shit out of nurse. Blowing kisses at the entire Knights bench. What we learned is we can play with the @#$& oilers, because they are not very good either!
rb7
the fat lady is getting ready to sing, and the boxing trainer has grabbed a towel and is ready to throw it in.
Hill is so weak on the blocker side, the stick side. just flails his right arm at the puck as it sails by him. no body movement to get in front of it. and Edm burned him twice on it.
they have lost 3 times to these bastards. and have folded up overall in the last part of this season.
DONAL MOORE
Once again we are not going to win a Stanley Cup with Aidan Hill in the net he is not the same goaltender from the Stanley Cup year he is the fourth not the first that’s the singing that the third choice in the Stanley Cup winning year they put their chips behind them he’s not the guy he’s going downhill look at his record it’s right there and everybody’s face the game wouldn’t go block her side High as I commented on the game night before last glove Side High he’s getting beat from the outside slap shots he has his moments yes he’s really good on the inside and many different points but on overtime shootouts slap shots wrist shots they all have his number and I would bet everything I own and everything everybody owns and the scouting reports on Hayden Hill it’s go outside high it’s blocker Side High and you can knock the defensive play the offensive play of the forwards in the defenseman you got to have goaltending also and they aren’t that bad of course you rip them apart after they score a goal but you got to go to there has to keep us in the game they have to be effective as well and while he makes a lot of great saves it’s the one that get by him that shouldn’t that are costing us games
Jerry
Same thing all season 1 point. They talk about us and others as pillow fighting. This is hockey.
TS
That pillow fight comment stung. I think our team has that reputation, unfortunately. Too soft. I’ve said it since we traded Reaves.
At least the game was competitive overall. Stone IS the heart of the team. The elder statesman is showing his passion, but he has also shown frustration at the level of VGK play.
The season is about over— time to pick a second favorite to win it all
.The Avs are my pick at this point– always want a Western team in the hunt…
knights fan in minny
So right about Reeves You have to bury the damn puck 4 on 3 slipping away The season
FG
Add the Korczak contract to the list of GMKM’s misses. Guy barely played the last two periods and seem unable to get the puck out of the zone.
Great discussion by Ken and Chris the other day reviewing trades. Essentially since the Cup year, they’ve all been bad, depleting the cupboard of draft picks and the team has gotten worse.
JB
I’m sure if all the blame, for trades, can be put on the McGMs? Foley is an old man. I’m sure in the first 6 years at least, his instructions were I want to win now. I don’t think he worried to much about years down the road, at that time! Anyway, I have such mixed feelings about the Knights making the playoffs. Of course I want them to be there, but if we do t then maybe a big shakeup will happen in management!
knights fan in minny
Nurse is a punk and he knows and he gets away with a lot of crap a lot of cross checking into people’s backs but he sure gets away with it when he plays Vegas Vegas shoulda went after the Mccarran kid at the trade deadline the guy of the Wild got He’s big and strong and wins Face offs He throws his weight Around and Plays physical
Emmanuel
Stone is playing hurt?
It seems to be implied by his interview.
Rrale
You would think if VGK listened to McWhinney comments they would have showed him a pillow fight. But NO just let him skate around and do his thing. Nurse should have been put into the boards after his disrespect. Again, NO just let him do it.
I did like to see the emotion from Stone. Too bad most of the other players to do not show any. Too bad Hill cannot stop a pillow. I agree with above comment about how to beat Hill.
Time for the VGK to dust off the golf clubs and get ready for the offseason. It started sooner than most of us would like.
Hdbiker7851
Rrale – pillow fight – you have get close to McDavid and no one on the knights team can even come close to catching him when he kicks in the after burner. Unfortunately vgks are history from their past. Mccrimmon dismantled the winning Cup team with stupid moves chasing shiny toys and extended contracts which they have no way of unloading based on performance. It’s not cracks that are showing up as shown by PPete it’s gapping holes in goal which effects the entire team. Teams win Cups – shiny toys don’t and crappy goaltending only complicates the problem.
Pistol Pete
Hill makes The Athletic list of ten most underperforming players. I myself have recently been falling into the trap of blame the goalie though I have not even seen the four he let in last night. It is worth noting the last eight games he has been better allowing just 17 goals (GAA 2.125).
—————-
Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights
Cracks are beginning to show that the Golden Knights aren’t as threatening as expected. For starters, they’ve won only 32 of their 72 games, a mediocre .444 win percentage. Vegas also has a dreadful 9-19-9 record against teams in playoff position this season.
Here’s a fascinating question, though: How many of the team’s issues trace back to a goaltending problem? It’s certainly not the Golden Knights’ only flaw — their offense has dried up considerably — but their netminding has been every bit as bad as that of teams like Edmonton and Ottawa, yet it hasn’t gotten nearly as much media coverage. Vegas owns a league-worst .885 save percentage at five-on-five.
Adin Hill has an ugly .868 save percentage through 23 games, which is the third-worst mark among all goaltenders this season. He’s been plagued by injuries, which are increasingly a concern for him; he only played 35 games in the 2023-24 season as well. Hill is only in year one of a hefty six-year contract at a $6.25 million cap hit.
Similar to Ottawa, the Golden Knights’ goaltending woes are especially frustrating because they have a stingy, goalie-friendly defensive environment. Vegas is the NHL’s leader at limiting five-on-five shots against and owns the second-best expected goals against per 60 rate.
Martin
‘Yes, their net minding is a huge problem. I, like everyone in this blog, do not understand Hill’s long term contract. He was a 3rd/4th string goalie that got really hot for their CUP and I understand extending him 2 years after that but the current contract makes me concerned that our GM has old age dementia. However, our superstars have one assist in the last 6 games. Eichel and Marner don’t shoot, they are assist guys despite what management said when Marner was traded for when they said one of them needs to score. They have not. Sidney Crosby has outscored both of them and he is damn near 40 years old.
Martin
And in addition to not scoring, our defense has put Hill in some very disadvantaged positions. Our current defense is not like our past defense and Rasmussen is not the answer. Please take the loss on the Rasmus trade and do not extend him this offseason. My ideal trade would have been Shea for Quinn Hughes and whatever they wanted instead of Rasmus who couldn’t even make the lineup for his national team.
Tim
The problem is this!! Jack Eichel 24, Hertl 24, Mark Stone 23, Ivan Barbashev 21, and the leader Pavel Dorofeyev 34 Goals. I don’t care how many assists you have to inflate your numbers all that counts is goal and we pay a lot of money for low production. Example Conner McDavid has scored 40 goal which tells why he’s the best and our stars are wanna be stars.
knights fan in minny
And you’re a wannabe who thinks You know hockey Stick to your boring baseball Those guys aren’t Athletes
KnightWatch
Don’t read much into this. Surely you need goals to win a game. (and saves)
Regarding Tim’s top goal scorer post.
How many Cups has McDavid won?
Interesting stat, anomaly?
In our Cup winning year “none” of our players were in the top 25 goal scrorers. Florida had 2 players. Oilers had 3. (Eichel had 27 goals)
In our inaugural year, you know the answer, only Wild Bill was. (43)
postmortem
Schmid vs Hill
38 points to 22
16 wins to 9
16-10-6 to 9-9-4
2.59 to 3.07 gaa
.893 to .868 save %
if you extrapolate the records over 82 games
Vgk with Schmid would have 98 points
Vgk with Hill would have 82 pts
a playoff team vs a not even close non playoff team.
case closed.
a Hill to die on, indeed