The Golden Knights missed an opportunity to take over the top spot in the Pacific Division as they dropped a 3-1 decision to the third-place Edmonton Oilers on Sunday in front of a nationally televised audience.
The division-leading Anaheim Ducks lost at home to the St. Louis Blues 4-0 earlier in the night, and remain one point in front of Vegas, 73-72, while the Oilers inched closer with 70.
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The Golden Knights still have just six wins against teams that would be in the playoffs right now, the fewest in the league.
US Olympic gold medalists Noah Hanifin and Jack Eichel scored for the Knights, while goaltender Adin Hill made 15 saves.
Trent Frederic, Vasily Podkolzin, Leon Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen scored for Edmonton.
After Frederic gave Edmonton an early second-period goal, Hanifin tied the game later in the stanza as he traced the blue line looking for clearance and blasted a shot through traffic to make it 1-1.
Podkolzin and Draisaitl scored in the third period to push Edmonton’s lead to 3-1 before Eichel’s short-handed strike brought the deficit back to one.
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Kapanen’s empty net goal with 1:57 left provided the final margin.
Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram made 24 stops.
While Hanifin eventually tied the game in the second period, the Golden Knights had a goal taken away a little more than six minutes earlier. Keegan Kolesar’s snipe from the right circle snuck by Ingram, but a coach’s challenge for an offside call overturned the goal. It seemed to deflate the Knights momentarily, rather than building momentum sooner in the period.
37 … Frederic’s goal marked the 37th time in 63 games a Vegas foe scored first. The Golden Knights are now 11-18-8 when their opponents scored first.
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Aside from his goal, Hanifin played an exceptional game for the Knights with two additional shots, four more blocked and a fifth off target. He also registered four blocked shots and finished +1.
“It’s all about just being assertive and moving my feet,” said Hanifin, who was plus for just the second time in six games. “I think that’s just what I got to do if I’m going to help this team. Tonight, I was getting up in the play a little bit. I think offensively, we’re using the points a lot tonight, getting a lot of motion going, and I think that helps our D-corps in general.”
UP NEXT: The Golden Knights play a one-off road game in Dallas on Tuesday.
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PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period at T-Mobile Arena.
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