3 takeaways from Knights’ Game 4 loss: Physical Oilers rattle Hill

Here are three takeaways from the Golden Knights’ 3-0 loss to the Oilers in Game 4 of their second-round series Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta:

1. More fight than resistance

There were only brief glimpses of the bitterness and nastiness that marked the 2023 series between the Knights and Oilers through the first three games of this matchup.

That changed Monday night. It also appeared to work in the home team’s favor, as Edmonton took control right away and never let up.

There were several skirmishes in the first period. Most occurred around the Knights’ net and involved goaltender Adin Hill. That looked to be by design for the Oilers, who went with a more physical lineup after getting pushed around in Game 3.

“We came out flying,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Everyone realized how important tonight’s game was and I believe everyone was dialed in and really dug in.

“I think we always want to have some hits and play that physical style when we can, but I just think the guys were dialed in. They knew it was a big game. There was huge disappointment from Game 3 and the way they played and the way it ended.”

Defenseman Nic Hague and Edmonton left wing Trent Frederic even exchanged right hands in the first fight of this year’s playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Knights, Hague put up more of a fight than the rest of his teammates. Edmonton put together its best performance of the best-of-seven series to take a 3-1 lead.

“It’s to be expected,” right wing Reilly Smith said of the response from the Oilers. “They’re trying to create juice after losing a game and that’s what they did. I think we answered, but we have to play with more pace and urgency in our game.

“We have to control our own destiny and play to win games. It seemed like we didn’t have the same urgency they had.”

It started in the opening minutes. The Oilers seemed to make a concerted effort to get after Hill and it worked. Left wing Evander Kane was in Hill’s face, jawing with the goaltender moments before Edmonton jumped ahead with a goal by center Adam Henrique 1:27 into the game.

That only led to more chaos in front of Hill, who turned 29 on Sunday. He didn’t back down. He took several swipes at Oilers who skated into his crease and even decked right wing Zach Hyman to the ice after a whistle.

“I think we take pride in it,” Kane said of getting to the net. “We know it’s tough to get inside because they have two (defensemen) who stand by the net. You have to battle to do it. I don’t know if we were purposely trying to get in his head or get to him, but he seemed to be taking some slashes against us.

“And it’s tough to avoid contact when you’re getting cross-checked into him.”

Hill appeared to get a stern warning from referee Wes McCauley at one point, but all the action in the blue paint also earned the Knights two power plays.

They couldn’t capitalize. The road team lost for the first time all series and the team that scored the first goal also won for the first time.

2. Skinner settles in

Goaltender Stuart Skinner lost his first three starts of the postseason and the numbers were downright ugly.

That included the Oilers’ Game 3 loss, when Skinner replaced the injured Calvin Pickard in net and surrendered four goals on 24 shots.

Skinner looked more comfortable Monday. The Knights also didn’t make his job all that difficult. They fired 24 shots on net but didn’t get much traffic in front.

That win could be huge for Skinner’s confidence. That would be a crucial boost for an Oilers team that is uncertain when Pickard, who is 6-0 in the playoffs, will return.

“It felt great,” said Skinner, who had an .817 save percentage and a 5.36 goals-against average this postseason before Monday’s game. “All I can say is thanks to the guys in front of me. They were fantastic tonight. It made my job a lot easier. They were battling and blocked a lot of shots. The way we played defensively was superb.

“The numbers are what they are, but the numbers don’t matter. Especially in the playoffs. You just have to give your team a chance to win.”

Skinner started Edmonton’s first two postseason games but was yanked after allowing 11 goals on 58 shots in his team’s first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings.

3. Battling through

The Knights have several players with injuries that are still suiting up and appear to be at far less than 100 percent.

Captain Mark Stone, who suffered an upper-body injury in Game 3 and didn’t play the final two periods, returned Monday. He skated 21:17, the third-most on the Knights, but didn’t have his usual impact on either end of the ice.

Left wing Pavel Dorofeyev struggled in his second game back after missing three games with an undisclosed ailment. Dorofeyev, who led the Knights in goals in the regular season with 35, started on the first power-play unit but was later replaced by left wing Victor Olofsson.

Defenseman Brayden McNabb returned for Game 3 after getting hurt on a trip in Game 2 that wasn’t called. He looked off Monday, as he was a minus-2.

Center Tomas Hertl, who missed eight games late in the season with an upper-body injury, doesn’t have a point his last six games.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.