NHL: Edmonton Oilers at Vegas Golden Knights - Source: Imagn

3 most impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 3-2 win over Vegas Golden Knights feat. Leon Draisaitl

Modified Apr 02, 2025 06:24 GMT

The Edmonton Oilers entered Tuesday night's game against the rival Vegas Golden Knights hoping to move into a second-place tie in the Pacific Division standings with the Los Angeles Kings and move a bit closer to the first-placed Golden Knights.

Thanks to their 3-2 regulation victory at T-Mobile Arena, they did just that.

Vegas struck first thanks to Nicolas Roy's 12th goal of the season. However, the Oilers scored three times in the game's middle frame to take a 3-1 lead; Jake Walman, Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson all scored for the Oilers. Draisaitl's goal was his NHL-leading 52nd of the season.

The Golden Knights made things interesting early in the third period with a goal from Pavel Dorofeyev, cutting the lead to one. However, Vegas proved unable to come up with the equalizing tally, even with goaltender Adin Hill pulled for the extra attacker late in regulation.

Hill finished with 17 saves on 20 shots in a losing effort, while Edmonton's Calvin Pickard made 20 saves on 22 shots.

3 most impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 3-2 win over Vegas Golden Knights

#1. Leon Draisaitl

We're running out of superlatives to describe Draisaitl, who will take home the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer for this season.

He increased his lead over the rest of the pack by scoring for the 52nd time this season, giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead in the second period.

Overall, he played in 23:05 of ice time; not only did he score, but he also was key on the defensive front with a pair of blocked shots.

#2. Calvin Pickard

With starter Stuart Skinner unavailable due to injury, the starting job has been relegated to Pickard for the time being.

He came through with a quietly strong performance against the Golden Knights in the venue popularly known as "The Fortress", one of the most intimidating places for Vegas' opposition.

Among the 20 saves that he made as part of the win were two saves each on William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar, along with two saves each on Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore.

#3. Jake Walman

The newly acquired Oilers defenseman brought an element of offensive flair and swagger to Edmonton when he was acquired from the NHL-worst San Jose Sharks on March 7.

At the time of the trade, he was the Sharks' leading defensive scorer. And he's fit in well with Edmonton, playing a role in their win over Vegas with a quick goal in the second period to knot the score at 1-1.

He played in a total of 20:38, firing four total shots on net while also finishing with a +2 rating.

The Edmonton Oilers will look to bounce back when they face the San Jose Sharks next at SAP Center on Thursday.

About the author

Michael Whitaker is a sports journalist based in metro Detroit with nearly a full decade of experience with publications like Detroit Sports Nation, Hockey Feed, Clutch Points and Bally Sports Detroit. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Eastern Michigan University.

Michael grew up playing ice hockey and now plays casually, and he supports his childhood team, the Detroit Red Wings. His favorite sporting moment was the Red Wings giving an injured Vladimir Konstantinov the Stanley Cup in his wheelchair following the 1998 win, on his birthday of June 16.

Michael has conducted exclusive interviews with former Detroit Red Wings trainer John Wharton, as well as four-time Stanley Cup champion Kirk Maltby.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys concerts, sporting events, visiting the gym, and playing with his 8-year-old labradoodle Gordie.

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