’They were just better than us’: Knights drop Game 1 to Oilers — PHOTOS

The Golden Knights couldn’t have scripted a better start against the Edmonton Oilers.

Their top line got the better of the Oilers’ superstar duo early. They jumped out to a two-goal lead. Even when Edmonton made its push, the Knights stayed poised.

But the team’s offense went cold the final 40 minutes. That allowed the Oilers to take over. Edmonton scored three times in the third period to defeat the Knights 4-2 in Game 1 of their second-round series at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Right wing Zach Hyman scored the game-winner with 3:02 remaining. Right wing Connor Brown added an insurance goal for the Oilers on a breakaway with 1:46 left.

Those two goals capped off a third period that began in bizarre fashion. Edmonton left wing Leon Draisaitl, who led the NHL in goals in the regular season, tied the game 2-2 just 57 seconds into the frame after throwing the puck on net from behind the goal line. The puck then bounced off goaltender Adin Hill and in.

The goals from Draisaitl, Hyman and Brown gave the Oilers their fifth straight win. They’ll play the Knights at T-Mobile Arena again in Game 2 on Thursday.

“They elevated their game today, and I don’t think we did halfway through the game,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think it’s that simple. They were just better than us.”

Captain Mark Stone scored twice in the first period to give his team a 2-0 lead. Hill made 24 saves, with half coming during a second period in which the Knights were outshot 12-1.

Edmonton finished with a 18-7 advantage in shots on goal the final 40 minutes.

“We didn’t make any changes. I didn’t think we were clean through the neutral zone,” Stone said. “I thought we did a pretty good job getting pucks behind and going to work. As we went on, we were a little sloppier. But it is what it is.”

The Knights did deal with some key absences.

Right wing Pavel Dorofeyev, who led the team with 35 goals in the regular season, missed his second straight game with an undisclosed ailment. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was also out Tuesday with an illness.

Fast start

The Knights still started strong in the first period.

Their top line of Stone, center Jack Eichel and left wing William Karlsson took it to the Oilers top line of Draisaitl, center Connor McDavid and right wing Corey Perry.

Stone put the Knights up 2:13 into the game with a power-play goal. He doubled his team’s lead 6:50 later after receiving a pass from Eichel, maneuvering around Perry and beating goaltender Calvin Pickard.

The two goals gave Stone 36 in the playoffs with the Knights, tying right wing Jonathan Marchessault for the most in franchise history.

Edmonton’s top line fought back with 3:34 left in the first period with a goal from the 39-year-old Perry, who has appeared in the last five Stanley Cup Finals.

The Oilers then came out flying in the second. Edmonton had a 14-3 edge in scoring chances in the period, according to the website Natural Stat Trick. Hill did all he could to keep the Knights afloat.

The Oilers, on the other hand, made things easy on Pickard. The former 2017 expansion draft pick by the Knights improved to 5-0 this postseason and finished with 15 saves.

Game is never over

The Knights, until Tuesday, had won 26 straight in the playoffs when leading by at least two goals.

But Edmonton has shown it’s never out of a game. The Oilers became the first team in NHL history to pick up five straight comeback wins in a single postseason.

“We know how good of a hockey team they are,” left wing Brandon Saad said. “We all watch the playoffs and saw how they matched up against L.A. So, not too much of a surprise. I just think we didn’t have a good enough hockey game.”

McDavid said after the Oilers eliminated the Los Angeles Kings in the first round that they owed the Knights a series.

Edmonton has held up its end of the bargain after one game.

“It’s great we can come back,” Perry said, “but it’d be nice if we were on the other side of things.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.