3 takeaways from Knights’ loss: McDavid’s magic shines in overtime
It was over when Connor McDavid turned on the jets.
The Edmonton Oilers captain received the puck on his team’s logo with 3:48 left in overtime Saturday at Rogers Center. The Golden Knights lost five seconds later.
McDavid, showing off his otherwordly speed, got around defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, protected the puck against left wing Chandler Stephenson and elevated a shot over goaltender Adin Hill’s glove for his NHL-leading 16th goal and 34th point of the season.
Just like that, the Knights (14-4-1) lost 4-3, and their six-game road winning streak was snapped.
“It’s tough when the best player in the league makes a play to win it,” captain Mark Stone said.
McDavid’s goal ended a back-and-forth affair with swings for both sides.
Left wing Warren Foegele scored 1:56 into the first to give the Oilers an early lead at home. Right wing Keegan Kolesar tied thing up 1-1 on a deflection with 3:38 left in the first period.
Stone gave the Knights their only lead of the game 4:09 into the second period on a penalty shot. He was hooked by defenseman Ryan Murray after center Jack Eichel sprung him for a breakaway, and then beat goaltender Stuart Skinner five-hole with a wrist shot.
Edmonton answered back before long. Leon Draisaitl, the NHL’s second-leading scorer, tied the game 2-2 with a shot from the right circle with 9:31 left in the second. McDavid took over from there.
He set up left wing Zach Hyman for a power-play goal 38 seconds into the third period. Stone scored, giving him his first two-goal game of the season and first since Dec. 21, 2021, with 8:27 left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
McDavid came up with one more moment of magic. The five-time scoring champion’s overtime goal gave him his 10th multipoint game in 18 tries. The Knights allowed four goals for the fourth time in their last five road games.
“Unfortunately, they made a play in overtime, and they get the win,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. Hill’s night
Hill, who started the season 5-0, is 0-1-1 in his last two games.
He allowed four goals for the second time this season Saturday and made only 18 saves. Several of them were crucial to preserve a point for the Knights, however.
Hill stopped great scoring chances from left wing Mattias Janmark and McDavid 50 seconds apart in the third period. Stone tied the game six minutes later.
“All in all, they scored good goals on us,” Cassidy said. “If we’re going to win, we probably need one more save along the way. That’s usually what happens. … I thought his game was fine.”
2. Fourth line keeps rolling
The Knights had a rare absence Saturday with center Nicolas Roy out with a lower-body injury.
It was the team’s fourth non-healthy scratch of the season. Left wing William Carrier missed one game with a mid-body injury, and right wing Keegan Kolesar sat out two with an illness.
Roy’s linemates didn’t miss a beat with center Brett Howden coming down from the third line to join them. Howden, Carrier and Kolesar started the game. Kolesar scored his third goal, and the Knights had a 5-2 edge in scoring chances at five-on-five with the group on the ice.
3. Penalty-shot stats
Stone’s second-period penalty shot was the 10th one in Knights’ regular-season history. It resulted in the fourth goal.
It was the first penalty-shot attempt of Stone’s career. The Knights’ previous takers were right wing Jonathan Marchessault (four times), Stephenson (twice), right wing David Perron, left wing Reilly Smith, center William Karlsson and Janmark.
Stone had a secret weapon, too. He said on the AT&T Sportsnet broadcast he asked goaltender Logan Thompson for advice before his attempt.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
