"Disappointed we lost tonight": Connor McDavid on Edmonton Oilers' 16-game win streak being cut short by Vegas Golden Knights
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid shared his thoughts after their impressive 16-game win streak was cut short by the Vegas Golden Knights after a 3-1 loss on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Oilers, who had not lost a single game since Dec. 19, fell short of just one win from tying the record of the 1992–93 Pittsburgh Penguins' 17 consecutive wins. The Oilers now remain tied with the 2016–17 Columbus Blue Jackets for the NHL's longest streak by a team with 16 consecutive wins.
Connor McDavid, who scored the only goal for the Oilers in the defeat, expressed how fresh and disappointing the loss felt for the team. He reckoned that after a long stretch of winning, it sometimes becomes forgettable how much losing stings:
"It’s fresh. We’re disappointed we lost tonight. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. You forget sometimes how bad you hate losing. It’s a good reminder."
McDavid mentioned that the game had a playoff-like atmosphere and highlighted that there were many positive aspects to take from the game, and the performance delivered by the team was similar to during their winning run:
Two good teams going at it. It was a little bit of a playoff-like atmosphere. Tight games happen; you have to go out and get it and obviously we didn’t do that. I liked a lot of parts of our game.
I thought it was a very similar game to what we played through the entire streak, we just didn’t find a way to get a win. Disappointed, but we move on,” McDavid added.
The Edmonton Oilers are third in the Pacific Division with 59 points, three points above fourth-placed LA Kings.
Connor McDavid scores, but Gloden Knights succeed in putting Oilers' streak to rest
Connor McDavid put the visitors up 1-0 after finishing an assist from Leon Draisaitl for a short-handed goal. With just less than two minutes remaining, Nicolas Roy tied it 1-1 for the Knights before heading into the second period.
The second period went goalless. The Golden Knights started the third period in dominance, with Chandler Stephenson putting the home side up 2-1 1:24 after he converted a pass from Jonathan Marchessault into a one-timer.
William Karlsson then scored on the empty net for the 3-1 win for the Golden Knights. Connor McDavid and the Oilers will be up against the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 9. As for the Golden Knights, they'll be up against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.