Golden Knights clinch Stanley Cup Playoff berth, fall to Oilers

LAS VEGAS -- The Edmonton Oilers scored three times in the second period and held off the Vegas Golden Knights for a 3-2 win at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

The Golden Knights, however, clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff berth when the Calgary Flames lost to the Utah Hockey Club 3-1 on Tuesday. The Golden Knights (45-21-8) are first in the Pacific Division, five points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings.

“It says a lot from top to bottom,” Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy said. “Everybody, starting with [team owner] Bill [Foley]. Obviously, the coaching and all the staff we got here, we’ve got the best. We’ve got the best fans. It’s a really good setup. So, it's really fun to be part of it.”

Jake Walman, Leon Draisaitl, and Viktor Arvidsson scored, and Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers (43-26-5), who have won two straight. Calvin Pickard made 20 saves.

Edmonton is third in the Pacific, two points behind the Kings.

“It looked like maybe it was a game plan to put them to sleep and then we would take over in the second period,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “The execution wasn't there, you know, missed passes, going offside, not able to generate very much just because we were just ending plays. … We get a goal, and that gives us a lot more life. Our game was a lot better after that.”

Pavel Dorofeyev had a goal and an assist, and Adin Hill made 17 saves for the Golden Knights, who had their six-game winning streak end.

“We didn't play for 20 minutes in the second,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “If we could have just had a B game, right? We talked about this a lot. There's A and B games. I liked our start. First period was good. We got ourselves in some penalty trouble, and you have to weather the storm against good teams. One goal can't become two or three.

“Today, we didn't get out of the second period well enough.”

Roy gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 4:34 of the first period after a Draisaitl turnover in the neutral zone resulted in a rush chance for the Golden Knights.

Walman tied the game 1-1 at 19 seconds of the second period, beating Hill to the far post. It was the defenseman’s first goal with the Oilers since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks on March 7.

“It felt great being able to get in my chances, so it was nice to see them go in,” Walman said. “The biggest thing is just fitting in, playing well, and letting that stuff take care of itself. So happy it went in, though, and happy we got the win.”

Draisaitl made it 2-1 at 16:03, scoring on a one-timer from the left dot while on a 5-on-3 power play. It was his NHL-leading 52nd goal.

Arvidsson extended it to 3-1 at 18:20, jamming in the puck underneath Hill. Vegas challenged for goalie interference, but a video review confirmed the call.

“I didn't see it go in first. Then I looked at the ref, and he was kind of not doing anything,” Arvidsson said. “Then he called the goal.”

Dorofeyev cut it 3-2 at 2:35 of the third period with a wrist shot through traffic from the point. It was Dorofeyev’s team-leading 32nd goal of the season.

“Everything he's done this year is proving a lot of people what he is,” Roy said. “We all knew he was a goal-scorer, but pretty unbelievable season.”