Adam Henrique scored twice to lead the Oilers to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, a result that puts Edmonton one win away from advancing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Evander Kane collected one goal and one assist for the Oilers, who lead the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series 3-1. Edmonton will try to wrap up the series on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner made 23 saves to record his first shutout of this year’s playoffs. Skinner, who began the playoffs as the starter but struggled and lost the job, returned to the net for the past two games with Calvin Pickard injured. He posted his second career playoff shutout.
“The way we played tonight was phenomenal, right from puck drop,” Skinner said on Sportsnet. “We were stifling defensively, and the way we responded after last game shows a lot maturity. The guys played so hard and I think deserved it.”
Goalie Adin Hill stopped 29 shots for the Golden Knights, who failed to build on their last-second Game 3 victory.
“We have to control our own destiny and play to win games,” Vegas winger Reilly Smith said. “It seemed we didn’t have the same urgency that they had.”
Henrique opened the scoring 87 seconds into the clash by burying an open chance from the slot after Connor Brown won a board battle behind the Vegas net and sent a puck to him.
The Oilers controlled the bulk of the play in the opening frame and made it a two-goal edge when Henrique registered his second of the clash at 13:03 of the period when he slipped home a loose puck during a scramble.
Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said, “We have to start better. This is a couple games in a row we’re chasing. We knew they would come out better. We have a veteran group. … They gotta know this team is going to be hungry. I don’t think there were enough players on our toes.”
Kane extended Edmonton’s lead at 7:38 of the second period when he slid a shot through Hill’s legs as he drove down the wing on an odd-man rush.
Connor McDavid earned an assist on the goal, running his point-scoring streak to eight games.
Vegas made a frantic late push, even pulling Hill for the extra attacker for most of the final four minutes, but could not crack Skinner’s shutout bid.
Golden Knights defenseman Jake Walman said of Skinner, “We have a ton of confidence in him. He’s an unbelievable goaltender, and he was on point tonight. Really happy for him. He deserves it. …
“This was a huge game. It could have been 2-2 or 3-1. We have a job to do, it’s not done, but definitely a better position to be in.”
During the first period, the first fight of the playoffs took place between Edmonton’s Trent Frederic and Vegas’ Nicolas Hague. There was another fracas immediate after the Oilers made it a 2-0 game, with Hill upset at Kane for a goalmouth collision.
The result leaves Vegas needing to win three games in a row, something the Golden Knights did to eliminate the Minnesota Wild in a six-game first-round set.
“We did it last series,” Smith said. “We have a lot of faith in this group.”
Added Cassidy, “We’re gonna have to do it the hard way.”
Meanwhile, Skinner is confident the Oilers can complete the job.
“The way these guys are playing in front of me, I believe we can do it,” he said. “We just have to stick to the process and keep playing the game we’re playing. I think if we do that, we give ourselves a good chance.”
–Field Level Media
