The Edmonton Oilers Won 16 Straight Games Only To Run Into A Vegas Golden Knights Buzzsaw… Again
The Edmonton Oilers were on the precipice of tying the NHL's consecutive wins record Tuesday night, and while they've been the hottest team in the NHL for the better part of a month and a half, they can't seem to shake the Vegas Golden Knights.
And they'd better find a way to deal with them when it matters because there's a good chance they'll be meeting again come playoff time.
We talked about the Oilers recently and how they have pulled a complete one-eighty from the team they were at the beginning of the season. Just weeks removed from a start so bad it cost former head coach Jay Woodcroft his job, the Oilers have caught fire under coach Kris Knoblauch.
Everything is clicking. Not only are the team's stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scoring like they normally do, the Oilers are getting depth scoring too. That hasn't always been the case and has been the team's greatest weakness for years.
It was always clear that Tuesday's game against Vegas — which was potential win No. 17 and would tie the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins consecutive wins record — was the toughest in this run.
Early in the game, it looked like Edmonton might just pull it off. I mean, look at this 2-on-0 from McDavid and Draisaitl. If you're a goalie and you see those two barreling toward you with your defenseman MIA, you know that puck is about to find twine.
Sure enough, it did.
However, that was the extent of the Oilers scoring, despite throwing 31 shots at Vegas' Adin Hill.
The Golden Knights scored three unanswered to win 3-1 and snap the Oilers streak at 15 wins.
They must love playing Oiler spoiler because Vegas eliminated Edmonton from the postseason last year in the second round.
Edmonton has a slight edge in the two team's all-time series, which sits at 14-13, however, between the playoff series and Tuesday's game, the Oilers need to start beating Vegas in bigger games.
Why? Because there's a pretty good chance they'll meet in the first round of this year's playoffs, that's why.
While Vancouver is running away with the Pacific Division lead, Vegas sits in second with 66 points, and behind them is Edmonton with 59 points and five games in hand.
Three points behind Edmonton are the Los Angeles Kings, who are essentially the bizarre Oilers. They had a hot start, but have fallen apart a little and are 3-5-2 in their last 10.
This is to say that a Vegas-Edmonton first-round matchup seems not only possible but likely.
This is Edmonton's best shot at winning a Cup in the Connor McDavid era. However, there's a good chance they'll have to get past the Vegas Golden Knights to do it.