EDMONTON, Alberta — If this were a fight, it would have been scored a unanimous decision, and some might have even felt sorry for the losers.
The Golden Knights got punked Monday and didn’t put up much of a response.
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Knights 3-0, and it wasn’t that close at Rogers Place. The Oilers lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 with Game 5 on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.
Whether such a performance as this also knocked the Knights out of their season for good is yet to be decided.
But this won’t do. This won’t get them back in the series. It will only delay the inevitable.
They have to be so much better. They have to generate some sort of offense. They have too many scorers to look this way for 60 minutes.
On a night when Edmonton played its best game of the series, the Knights had zero response. Played their worst game.
The Oilers were relentless, and the visitors not so much.
Over quickly
Adam Henrique scored the first goal less than two minutes into the game, and the Oilers assumed control.
They certainly set a tone from the start. They led 2-0 after one period because they were by far the more physical team, checking all over the ice and limiting the Knights to five shots.
And that included three failed power plays by the Knights.
Five shots.
Knights coach Bruce Cassidy talked before the game about getting off to a fast start, about how important it was to match Edmonton’s intensity.
Instead, the Knights were late to the party. Never arrived, actually.
The intensity part all belonged to the Oilers.
Play finally started to get testy in the series. Emotions finally started to boil over. Took until Game 4 to bring it out. Some scrums here, some fights there. Hey, a little chaos never hurt anybody.
There were 22 penalty minutes assessed in the first period.
You’re going to have bad stretches. You’re going to have, as Cassidy said, six- to seven-minute lulls.
The Knights had a lot more than that.
The performance wasn’t any better in the second period, when the Knights managed just seven shots. One of their best looks might have come from Alex Pietrangelo on the penalty kill.
It was that desperate a situation.
The Knights just couldn’t sustain much at all. Had no answers through 40 minutes, after which they trailed 3-0.
It was over then. They have never rallied from three down in a playoff game.
Wasn’t going to happen on this night, either. Wasn’t going to come close.
Cassidy tried mixing and matching and changing lines. Nothing worked. The Oilers shut the Knights down at every turn.
“We know Game 2 could have gone either way,” Cassidy said. “We didn’t play well in Game 1, and it was tied with three minutes to go and we led going into the third. We feel if we can get to our game — it’s cliche — but we feel things can be better.
“We have to get better.”
They have to get a lot better. If this is what’s to be expected Wednesday, their season will end. They need to find answers between now and then.
They need to punch back.
It’s hockey. Things can change in an instant. The Knights will come hard Wednesday. Season on the line type stuff.
But this one was a beatdown. A unanimous decision. A resounding knockout.
And yet, be sure of it, they believe.
What’s expected
“We’ve had that mindset in our group as long as I’ve been here,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “That’s not a cockiness. That’s a quiet confidence. Our group had been through a lot of scenarios. Whatever the situation, guys understand it comes with pressure and responsibility. We understand that is expected of us. That’s just part of the game.”
What is expected is a much better game come Wednesday.
They need it or the series is over.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
