In Edmonton, the Oilers damaged the Vegas Golden Knights’ hopes of a post season berth when Mike Smith made 39 saves in his second straight shutout on Saturday.
“I’ve said it numerous times, I think at this time of the season, you want to be on the top of your game and a big reason why you’re headed to the playoffs and in the playoffs and playing your best games to give the team the best chance to win,” Smith said. “That’s all I’ve been focused on and not dwelling on what’s happened before or in the past. That’s out of my control now, so I’ve been focused on my next game and really been working hard to get it back on the rails. I feel like the last month or so, I’ve been playing some solid hockey.”
The Oilers improved to 44-26-6, and have won of their last 10.
“There is something to be said about what we’re doing and what guys are committed to doing and putting the team first,” Smith said. “I think everyone is just committed to winning, and you can tell. There is a second and third effort, there is a willingness to block a shot or box a guy out or the little things it takes to win hockey games that we talk about all the time. When you do it on a consistent basis, you get good results and I think we’re getting that right now.”
Kris Russell scored in the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.
Vegas dropped to 41-30-5.
”We have to regroup,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. ”We’ve talked about this, we knew we weren’t going to run the table and we talked about two weeks ago, we were going to drop some points along the way, but we’re still right in the thick of things. We have to have a short memory and get ready for the next one (against the New Jersey Devils on Monday).”
The score stayed that way until the third period when the Oilers hit for three goals.
Cody Ceci scored with just 35 seconds gone in the frame for a 2-0 lad, and Warren Foegele pushed the lead to 3-0.
“We got contributions for up and down the lineup,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Different people are finding ways to contribute, and that’s what good teams have, a lot of contributing and productive players. The way we’re asking our players to play is not an easy style, but our players are putting the work in and it’s fun to see them execute.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins closed the scoring with a shorthanded strike for the 4-0 final.
Logan Thompson made 32 saves in the Vegas loss.
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