The Vegas Golden Knights are suddenly in the Pacific Division driver’s seat after a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at Rogers Place, pulling within one point of first place with five games remaining.
Carter Hart made 31 saves in his second straight start since returning from a 33-game lower-body injury, turning aside all three Edmonton power plays. Jeremy Lauzon scored his first goal as a Golden Knight and added an assist, while Jack Eichel collected three helpers.
The win was Vegas’s third straight under new coach John Tortorella, who replaced Bruce Cassidy six days ago. The Knights (35-26-16) now sit one point behind the Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, who are tied atop the division with 87 points. Anaheim lost 5-3 to Calgary on Saturday for its fifth straight loss.
Edmonton (39-29-9) entered on a five-game winning streak but played without top scorers Leon Draisaitl (lower body) and Zach Hyman (undisclosed).
“I think we’re consistently trying to play fast,” Tortorella said. “Certainly playing north. We had a lot of good minutes tonight.”
Brett Howden opened the scoring at 11:43 of the first period, cleaning up a rebound from Eichel. It was the first time the Knights led after 20 minutes since March 14.
Lauzon’s goal came on a drop pass from Eichel, a blocker-side snipe that marked his first tally since Feb. 22, 2024, when he played for Nashville.
“It was a great moment,” Lauzon said. “I was waiting for it for a long time.”
Evan Bouchard cut the Vegas lead to 3-1 late in the second period, but Mark Stone tipped an Ivan Barbashev pass 13 seconds after killing a Kaedan Korczak tripping penalty in the third to restore the three-goal cushion.
Hart, a Sherwood Park, Alberta native playing near home, looked sharp throughout.
“I just felt more in a rhythm tonight,” Hart said. “I felt a little looser. (The) boys did a great job in front of me and kept things to the outside.”
The Knights killed all three Oilers power plays, improving their penalty kill to 3-for-3 on the night.
Vegas had lost the first three meetings with Edmonton this season, including a 4-3 overtime defeat on March 26 at T-Mobile Arena.
The Knights host Vancouver on Tuesday.
