By Canadian Press

Hyman, Draisaitl push Oilers to 5-1 over Golden Knights without McDavid

Apr 10, 2024 | 9:54 PM

EDMONTON — Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 on Wednesday despite the absence of star forward Connor McDavid.

Cody Ceci, Mattias Ekholm and Dylan Holloway also scored while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan McLeod had a pair of assists each for Edmonton (48-24-5), which won a third game in a row.

The Oilers hit 100 points in the standings in a third consecutive season for the second time in franchise history. They hit the century mark six times in a row from 1981-82 to 1986-87.

McDavid missed the game with a lower-body injury but is considered day-to-day. The Oilers captain is stuck at 99 assists on the season, needing only one to become just the fourth player in NHL history to hit 100.

Keegan Kolesar scored the lone goal for the Golden Knights (42-28-8), who lost a third straight.

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The Oilers started the scoring midway through the opening period. 

Ceci hustled in from the point and sent a shot from a bad angle that hit the skate of Vegas defender Alec Martinez and deflected cleanly past Golden Knights starter Adin Hill for his fourth goal of the season.

Ekholm continued his torrid pace of late with his 11th of the season coming 5:38 into the second period. He unleashed a rocket of a shot from the right faceoff dot that Hill could only wave at. Ekholm leads all NHL defencemen in five-on-five points since the NHL all-star break with 25.

Edmonton made it 3-0 eight minutes into the middle frame as Hill made a pad save on a shot by Nugent-Hopkins, but couldn’t stop Hyman from depositing his team-leading 53rd of the season on the rebound.

Vegas continued to have trouble getting to Oilers starter Stuart Skinner, who stopped Anthony Mantha on a breakaway with six minutes left in the second.

The Oilers went up 4-0 seven minutes into the third on a two-man advantage. Nugent-Hopkins found Draisaitl in his office for a one-timer and his 41st of the year.

The Golden Knights broke Skinner’s shutout bid a minute later as Noah Hanifin sent Kolesar in on a short-handed breakaway. Kolesar rifled a shot glove-side for his seventh.

Holloway, recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League as a result of McDavid’s injury, made a positive impact midway through the third. Hill left the puck behind his net, but the Oilers forward hit the jets and stole the puck before scoring his fourth of the season on a wraparound.

NOTES

It was the third and final meeting between the two teams which have developed bad blood over the past couple campaigns, including last year’s playoffs when the Golden Knights knocked the Oilers out in the second round. Edmonton won the first game 5-4 in a shootout at home in November, but then lost 3-1 to Vegas on the road on Feb. 6, ending their 16-game win streak … The Golden Knights had a bunch of holes in their lineup, missing the likes of Alex Pietrangelo, Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy … However, Vegas goalie Hill returned and started after missing seven games with a lower-body injury … Vegas was at one point sitting 20 points ahead of the Oilers in the standings, but Edmonton came into Wednesday’s contest with a seven-point lead over the Knights.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: Begin a season-ending four-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild on Friday.

Oilers: Play host to the Arizona Coyotes in the second game of a four-game homestand on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2024.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press