Oilers, minus Connor McDavid, blow out Knights

Field Level Media|published: Wed 10th April, 23:25 2024

Apr 10, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane (91) looks for a pass beside Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) during the first period at Rogers Place. credits: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist and Stuart Skinner made 18 saves as the host Edmonton Oilers cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.

Cody Ceci, Mattias Ekholm and Dylan Holloway also scored goals and Ryan McLeod and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each chipped in with two assists for Edmonton (48-24-5, 101 points), which played without reigning league MVP and scoring champion Connor McDavid.

McDavid, who leads the league with 99 assists and is third with 130 points, sustained a lower-body injury near the end of Edmonton's 4-2 victory at Calgary on Saturday. He is listed as day-to-day.

Skinner improved to 22-5-3 in home games this season.

Keegan Kolesar scored a short-handed goal for Vegas (42-28-8, 92 points), which dropped its third consecutive game. Adin Hill, playing for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury on March 23 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, finished with 21 saves.

Edmonton took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. Ceci saw his crossing pass from near the right boards carom into the net off the skate of Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez for his fourth goal of the season.

The Oilers extended the lead to 3-0 with goals on consecutive shots in the second period.

Ekholm, left alone in the middle of the left circle, scored at 5:38 when he blasted a slap shot over Hill's left shoulder for his career-high 11th goal.

Hyman, alone in front of the crease, scored at 8:06. He swept in a rebound of a Nugent-Hopkins shot into a wide-open right side of the net for his 53rd goal, moving him into a tie for second in the league with the Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart.

Draisaitl made it 4-0 at 6:50 of the third period with Edmonton's first five-on-three power-play goal of the season, one-timing a shot from the right circle for his 41st.

Kolesar broke up Skinner's shutout bid a minute later with a breakaway goal, the second short-handed goal of his career.

Holloway increased the lead to 5-1 midway through the period when he picked up a loose puck behind the net and quickly wrapped a shot around the right post for his fourth goal.

Vegas center Chandler Stephenson was a late scratch for what the team called personal reasons.

—Field Level Media

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