GAME RECAP: Golden Knights 4, Oilers 0

EDMONTON, AB - Reilly Smith and William Karlsson tallied a goal and assist each, while Laurent Brossoit backstopped the Vegas Golden Knights to victory with a 28-save shutout performance as the Edmonton Oilers were defeated by a score of 4-0 Tuesday at Rogers Place.
Evander Kane recorded a game-high five shots on goal, Zack Kassian registered seven hits and Mike Smith, in his first start since Jan. 5, turned aside 24 shots as Edmonton's record fell to 23-17-3. In the special teams department, the Oilers went 1-for-1 on the penalty kill but 0-for-3 on the power play, allowing one shorthanded goal against in the process.
The club will get an opportunity to return to the win column Wednesday night when the Chicago Blackhawks arrive in Oil Country for what will be the Oilers second game in as many nights.

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FIRST BLOOD

The Oilers surrendered the opening goal for the 13th time in the last 15 games when Vegas Golden Knights forward Brett Howden beat Smith off the rush at 9:59 of the first period.
The play began when Shea Theodore sent a near-perfect, two-line stretch pass to Howden to prompt a dangerous opportunity up ice. The forward took the space available to him from the left side then wired the puck through Smith's wickets for his eighth goal of the season on the visitor's third shot of the match.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Returning to the crease for just his seventh appearance of the season after overcoming two separate injuries -- a lower-body issue and a partial tear in his thumb -- Oilers keeper Smith registered the save of the game with a leg-splitting denial on Evgenii Dadonov in the second period.
The Russian picked up the puck along the right half-wall then barreled down towards the goal-line. Once he found himself 1-on-1 with Smith, Dadonov stickhandled the puck from his backhand to forehand and backhand again, causing the goalmouth to gape wide as Smith slid against the grain. Dadonov and a mess of bodies crashed into the paint over top of Smith but the 39-year-old net-protector extended his left pad to make a toe save.

TURNING POINT

With a power-play opportunity to even the playing field in the opening frame, Karlsson added to the away side's lead with a shorthanded strike at 16:55.
Tyson Barrie's one-timer from the point got blocked by Smith to spur an odd-man rush, which developed into a 2-on-0 as Karlsson kept up with the play. Smith transferred the puck on his backhand to Karlsson for the tap-in tally, his seventh goal of the campaign, and the two-goal lead.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Dave Tippett on the Oilers not mustering offence against the Golden Knights:
"I thought our execution wasn't near what it needed to be tonight. From puck-moving in our end to getting up the ice to passing up some shots and net-drive stuff that was over-passed or overlooked … the execution wasn't near at the level it needed to be at.
"Vegas, they come at you hard and they're a hard forechecking team. It started in the first shift of the game. Bouch turned it over twice and then they get two chances. You got to be solid with the puck. You know it's going to be a hard game. Time and space are going to be at a premium. You got to be able to execute at that level and we didn't do it tonight."
Coach Tippett on Smith's performance in goal:
"We gave up some Grade-A chances. He had a 2-on-0, the first one was a 2-on-1. We got to get him back up and going. In the third period, I thought he battled. He made some good saves in the third period. It was the first one in a while for him and we got to get him back up and going."

Tippett on the team allowing chances against from the slot:
"A lot of turnovers that led to quick chances against. You look at the 2-on-0, the 2-on-1 and how many chances when we turned the puck over. Barrie turned it over once more, Bouch turned it over, Nursy turned one over. You're giving chances away. Your forwards are taking off thinking we're going and the pucks not getting to them, you're going to end up giving up chances in your own zone. That's what happened."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the Oilers allowing rush opportunities against on Tuesday:
"It's something that we know we have to take care of and have been working on it. Tonight, we let it slip a little bit. The first two were basically breakaway or even 2-on-0. It's tough on Smitty and we obviously need to clean that area up and be better tomorrow."
Nugent-Hopkins on whether the Oilers experienced rust in their first game since the All-Star weekend:
"We were working. Obviously, we made the bigger mistakes and they capitalized on those mistakes. We were pushing early, even in the second period, but we couldn't find a way to beat Brossoit there. It's frustrating to come back from a break and start off like that but at the same time, we play tomorrow. There's no time to dwell on it. We know we can be better. Limit our mistakes and move on here."

Zach Hyman on the importance of divisional matchups against Pacific Division opponents:
"We've played them twice before and beat them twice in Vegas. I think we're a really capable team but obviously, in the standings, it's a divisional game. We're chasing them and we have games in hand and it was a big one. You don't want to lose that one but we're really confident in our group and it was just a sloppy game from us."