PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Golden Knights

The Edmonton Oilers will host the Vegas Golden Knights in a Pacific Division meeting at Rogers Place on Saturday afternoon.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 2:00 MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Golden Knights

EDMONTON, AB – After hanging seven on the league-leading Wild on Thursday, the Oilers will seek retribution against the Golden Knights for their low-scoring defeat in Vegas last week when they host the Pacific Division leaders at Rogers Place on Saturday afternoon.

“We like playing them and all the good teams,” defenceman Brett Kulak said. “You can kind of measure yourself to know where your game’s at. They've given us two good games and they're a hard team to beat, but we're excited for tomorrow.”

Saturday’s matinée matchup in Oil Country will be the third of four meetings this season between the Oilers & Golden Knights, with the Blue & Orange coming up on the losing end both times in close 4-2 and 1-0 defeat to their divisional rivals.

Noah Hanifin scored two goals in the third period at Rogers Place last month, notching the game-winner with 49 seconds remaining in a come-from-behind victory for Vegas that saw Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman score 3:38 apart in the middle frame to give the Oilers a 2-1 advantage.

Last Tuesday, the Oilers liked a lot about their game despite not scoring, allowing only one goal to Vegas' leading goalscorer Ivan Barbashev 10:47 into the first period but running into a hot goaltender at the other end in Adin Hill, who made 28 saves in a 1-0 victory for the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

“I think we played a really good game over 60 minutes for getting shut out,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I think the one thing to focus on was just bearing down on opportunities and what we're doing with the puck because I thought it was a tight game.

“We had every opportunity to score. I think we had just as many opportunities in that game as some of these other games that we played well in but weren't able to find the net, and Vegas is a good team. They don't give you very much, so when you do have an opportunity, you must make sure that you make the most out of it.”

The Oilers have rattled off four consecutive victories since being shut out by the Golden Knights, including their 7-1 win over the Wild on Thursday where Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 21^st goal and added three assists to record his fourth straight multi-point game.

Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each notched power-play goals as Edmonton’s man advantage improved to 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) over their last four games. Connor Brown scored his team’s second short-handed marker of the season just 1:55 into the second period and finished with a goal and an assist.

The Oilers’ penalty kill was beaten just before the first intermission but has been able to kill off 28 of their last 31 penalties (90.3 percent) as the NHL’s top penalty kill since Nov. 12.

Seven different Oilers exploded for multiple points, which was Edmonton’s first in the State of Hockey since February 2019 (six games) and brought their record to 7-1-0 over their last eight games. Defenceman Darnell Nurse had two assists to surpass 200 career helpers, while two more assists from Connor McDavid pushed the captain’s points streak to four games, totalling two goals and seven assists.

Amongst all the takeaways of Thursday’s win over the Wild and their four-game win streak, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch picked out his team’s goaltending as one of the brightest developments – even after a night where the offence was able to solve the league-best Wild by scoring seven times.

If it weren't for goaltender Calvin Pickard stepping up to make 29 saves, including some crucial stops at critical moments, it certainly wouldn't have been such a rousing win for the Oilers against a Wild team that's historically had their number.

Skinner has posted a .935 save percentage or better in each of his last five starts, while Pickard's only two defeats in his previous nine starts (7-2-0) came in shut-out defeats to New Jersey and Montreal, showing that the backup's performances have largely been good enough when he's been between the pipes.

“I think lately it's been the goaltending and how well they played," Knoblauch said. "You look at the game just the other night against Minnesota where we won convincingly, there were numerous times where they had opportunities to get back into it and make it close.

"I think of the one on the power play in the second period, I think it was 3-1, and that's a different game if that goes in. There were numerous times when a key save was made, and it looked like the game was closer than it looked. We've had a couple of those games lately where we've won in convincing fashion, but I just think our saves were big and often at key points in the game."

Edmonton's blueline has contributed 19 goals this season, second in the NHL behind the Blue Jackets with 20, after defenceman Troy Stecher scored his second goal in three games in Minnesota to make it 6-1 for the Oilers during the third period.

Ty Emberson had an active game against the Wild by getting into a fight with Jakub Lauko before adding an assist.

"That's not an easy thing to do – centre ice, a national broadcast and all that stuff. He's a killer back there," Mattias Ekholm said of Emberson. "That's crazy. I didn't know he had it in him, but he clearly showed it last night and he's been amazing for us.

"I think he took a couple of weeks, maybe a month to kind of find his stride and find your way through it. He's new to the league, but now, I really feel like he's thriving, finding his role and knowing what to do out there. I think he's doing an excellent job for us."

The Eau Claire, WI product has only 57 games of NHL experience but has grown exponentially as the season has progressed, and he could be relied upon more on Saturday afternoon if defenceman Evan Bouchard is unable to play.

Emberson was paired up with Ekholm during practice at the Downtown Community Arena on Friday after Bouchard was held off the ice with an apparent-upper-body injury from being shoved into the post in Minnesota by forward Ryan Hartman on a dump-in during the third period.

"Yeah, it's tough. He's a little banged up. We don't know really to what extent," defenceman Brett Kulak said. "Obviously, Hartman's physical player and just the way the game was going, I'm sure there's some frustration and they're looking to finish a few extra checks and do whatever.

"Most of the time, you take a check and it's all good, but I don't know if he hit the post or what happened really – I haven't got a chance to talk to him – but hopefully, he doesn't miss any time, or if he does, we hope it's not very much."

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch designated Bouchard as a game-time decision for Saturday afternoon, with Josh Brown being recalled from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Friday as insurance if the Oakville, Ont. product can't suit up.

“Obviously, he didn’t skate today. He'll get evaluated tomorrow and he'll be a game-time decision,” Knoblauch said following the skate.

“He got banged up a little bit, but we don’t think it’s anything major. And like I said, tomorrow we'll find out. He's probably 50-50 to play tomorrow.”