Jack Eichel had three assists as the Vegas Golden Knights continued their strong play under new head coach John Tortorella, coming away with a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Brett Howden and Jeremy Lauzon each had a goal and an assist, while Colton Sissons, Mark Stone and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Golden Knights (35-26-16) who have won all three games since Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy on the bench and are 3-0-2 in their last five contests.
Vegas moved one point back of both Edmonton and Anaheim atop the Pacific Division standings.
Evan Bouchard replied for the Oilers (39-29-9) who had their season-high five-game win streak halted. Edmonton played without star forwards Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.
Carter Hart recorded 31 saves to earn the win in the Vegas net, while Connor Ingram made 28 stops for Edmonton.
Golden Knights: Eichel assisted on the opening goal to help him reach his second-straight 80-point season. No other player has reached the mark for the Vegas franchise. Eichel also recorded his 95th multi-point game, tying Jonathan Marchessault for the second most in franchise history behind Mark Stone with 102.
Oilers: Bouchard, who has a 10-point lead over all NHL defencemen with 88 points on the season, has 10 points in his last seven games. Only 12 defencemen have ever reached the 90-point mark in a season.
Vegas took a 3-0 lead 8:05 into the second period as Eichel dropped it back to Lauzon and he snapped his first goal of the season high to the blocker side past Ingram. Lauzon hadn’t scored in 112 games, stretching back to Feb. 22, 2024.
The Golden Knights were in need of a win against the Oilers, having lost all three of their games to them this season and nine of their last 10 overall, including falling in five games to Edmonton in the second round of last year’s playoffs. The Vegas win also represented Edmonton’s first loss in regulation time to a divisional rival at home this season, falling to 9-1-2.
Golden Knights: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
Oilers: Visit the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
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