Edmonton @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 23, 2019 ) Edmonton 4, Vegas 2

The Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights put their season-high six-game win streak on the line Wednesday when they open a four-game homestand against the Edmonton Oilers. Both teams are coming off overtime contests in Anaheim with Vegas securing a 6-5 victory Sunday and Edmonton leaving with a 4-3 setback on Tuesday.

The Golden Knights nearly wasted center William Karlsson’s third career hat trick Sunday as the Ducks scored two goals with their goalie pulled late in the third period to send the contest to an extra frame before Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore ended it with his ninth of the year. “I think we’ve just played good hockey,” Theodore told reporters after his third career overtime goal. “We’ve really tightened up our systems. I think we are sticking to that and really starting to feel that pressure of the end of the season.” The Oilers were busy during Monday’s trade deadline as they acquired 25-year-old former 30-goal scorer Andres Athanasiou from Detroit and Edmonton native Tyler Ennis from Ottawa with the pair each tallying a goal and an assist in their debut Tuesday against the Ducks. With Edmonton sitting two points behind Vegas in the Pacific Division, the return of Connor McDavid has provided a boost to the offense as the captain has registered a goal and five assists in two games since missing six with a quad injury.

TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mountain, Sportsnet West

ABOUT THE OILERS (33-22-8): Leon Draisaitl recorded his NHL-leading 40th point on the man advantage with his 37th goal Tuesday as the league’s point leader is one point shy of reaching the 100-point plateau for the second consecutive season. Goaltender Mike Smith made 17 saves while allowing four goals Tuesday and on the second night of a back-to-back is expected to hand the crease over Wednesday to Mikko Koskinen, who is 1-3-0 with an .899 save percentage and 3.28 goals against average in his last four starts. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been held off the scoresheet only once in his last nine games and has amassed four goals and nine assists during that time.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (34-22-8): Right wing Mark Stone registered his second four-assist outing in his last six games Sunday and with his final assist of the game on Theodore’s overtime marker as the 27-year-old matched his career-high with his team-leading 42nd helper. Left wing Max Pacioretty, who owns a team-high 29 goals, extended his point streak to four games with a pair of helpers Sunday while defenseman Alec Martinez, who was acquired Tuesday from the Kings, had a goal and an assist for the second time in three games with his new team. The Golden Knights made a pair of deals Monday as they brought in center Nick Cousins (nine goals, 13 assists) from the Canadiens and shored up their goaltending by making a trade with the Blackhawks for Robin Lehner (16-10-5, .918 save percentage).

OVERTIME

1. Golden Knights RW Reilly Smith has four goals and two assists during a five-game point streak.

2. Edmonton owns the league’s top power play success rate (29 percent) and the second-best penalty kill (84.4 percent).

3. Karlsson’s three goals Sunday were his first since Dec. 13, ending a 20-game goal drought.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 5, Oilers 3