The Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers both have won four in a row and eight of their last 10 games.
One Pacific Division power will continue its ascent at the other’s expense on Saturday afternoon when they meet in Edmonton.
Ivan Barbashev scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season — and the first in overtime of his career — to lead Vegas to an inspiring 3-2 win in Winnipeg on Thursday night.
Barbashev also had three assists in the Golden Knights’ 4-2 victory over the Oilers on Nov. 6 and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 triumph over Edmonton on Dec. 3.
Keegan Kolesar, who is from Brandon, Manitoba, scored in a homecoming of sorts to help Vegas complete its rally over Winnipeg an improve to 8-1-2 in its last 11 road games.
“(We were) able to tie it up, then go down again, we stayed with it right to the very end,” Kolesar said. “We didn’t let it waver in any way in our play, played right to the whistle and we were able to come up two points.”
The Knights likely have goaltender Adin Hill to thank for that.
Hill made 18 saves on Thursday night to improve to 11-2-2 in his last 15 starts. That includes turning aside 27 shots in the first encounter against the Oilers and all 28 he faced in the rematch earlier this month.
Hill once again will be tasked with slowing down superstars Leon Draisaitl and captain Connor McDavid.
Draisaitl scored a goal and set up three others while McDavid notched two assists in Edmonton’s 7-1 romp over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. To be fair, 13 of the Oilers’ 18 skaters picked up at least one point in the lopsided victory.
“Everyone was really good, but Leon really was at another level,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said of Draisaitl, who has 10 points (four goals, six assists) during a four-game point streak.
“His two linemates really helped out, (Vasily Podkolzin) and (Kasperi) Kapanen. Those three have been playing well. But Leon in the last week or so has been on top of his game.”
McDavid hasn’t been too shabby in his own right.
The three-time Hart Trophy recipient also is riding a four-game points streak (two goals, seven assists) and has dented the scoresheet in 13 of his last 15 games.
Edmonton could be without workhorse defenseman Evan Bouchard on Saturday after he exited with nearly 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third period following a hard hit from rugged Ryan Hartman. Bouchard, who was in a vulnerable position, collided head-first with the net before crashing into the end boards.
“We’ll fly home and get it checked out,” Knoblauch said. “Hopefully it’s something minor.”
Per Daily Faceoff, Bouchard was seen sporting a “slight limp postgame and (had) soreness but otherwise seemed to avoid the worst of it.”
Bouchard has played in all 29 games this season and has missed just two contests in the previous three campaigns.
–Field Level Media
