EDMONTON, Alberta — The Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers may be proving home-ice advantage is more myth than reality.
The road team is undefeated in their second-round series following the Knights’ thrilling 4-3 win in Game 3 on Saturday, with right wing Reilly Smith scoring the winning goal with 0.4 seconds remaining.
The loss cut the Oilers’ lead to 2-1 heading into Monday’s Game 4 at Rogers Place.
“We need to use the momentum in front of us to push forward, but focus one game at a time,” Smith said. “That’s always been the mindset from this group. As long as you focus on the next game and get a little bit better every night, we’ll give ourselves a chance to compete with anyone.”
Momentum shifts
Time will tell if the Knights build off Saturday’s dramatic victory. They showed in the first round how dangerous they can be once they get rolling.
The Knights also trailed 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild in that series but won Game 4 on left wing Ivan Barbashev’s overtime goal. They won the next two as well to advance to the second round.
The Knights needed to lean on that resiliency when they trailed 2-0 in the first period of Saturday’s Game 3. They scored three unanswered goals to take the lead against the Oilers.
Even when Edmonton captain Connor McDavid scored to tie the game with 3:02 remaining, Smith responded to give the Knights new life in the series.
“Our plan is to get better with every single game we go for,” Barbashev said. “That’s what we did in Minnesota. We were struggling, got better. That’s probably what happened here against Edmonton. Game 1 wasn’t good enough, second game we got better, still lost. I think we’re just getting better.”
Inspirational moments
The Knights had plenty of sources of inspiration Saturday.
Defenseman Brayden McNabb suited up despite leaving Game 2 after being tripped in overtime by right wing Viktor Arvidsson. McNabb played 19:39 and got the secondary assist on Smith’s game-winning goal. He said he felt some “discomfort” but felt fine to play.
The Knights also needed to play most of Saturday’s game without captain Mark Stone, who left in the first period with an upper-body injury. Stone is considered day to day.
“Hopefully he’s better tomorrow, ready to go,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.
The Knights don’t have much time to bask in Saturday’s win. They could only celebrate for a few hours before preparing for Monday’s Game 4.
They know they still need another win to regain home-ice advantage in the series and make it a best-of-three. The Knights believe they can make it happen.
“Hopefully the momentum swings into our favor,” center William Karlsson said. “Just try to win the next game. It’s a tough building to come in and play in. We got the win (Saturday). That’s the first step on this (road trip).”
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Oilers
What: Game 4, second round (Oilers lead 2-1)
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
TV: TNT, truTV
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM/98.9 FM)
Line: Oilers -125; total 7
Series schedule
(Oilers lead 2-1)
Game 1: Oilers 4, Golden Knights 2
Game 2: Oilers 5, Golden Knights 4 (OT)
Game 3: Golden Knights 4, Oilers 3
Game 4: 6:30 p.m. Monday at Rogers Place (TNT)
Game 5: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN)
*Game 6: Friday at Rogers Place, TBD
*Game 7: May 18 at T-Mobile Arena, TBD
*if necessary
