3 key points for the Oilers' 4-3 loss against the Golden Knights in Game 3 – Hockey Writer –

The Edmonton Oilers returned to Game 3 on Saturday night (May 10) and hoped to take a 3-0 lead against the Vegas Golden Cavaliers. Unfortunately, this is not the case, thanks to Reilly Smith's last-second buzzer winning the Vegas game. Smith scored two goals, Nicolas Roy scored, and William Karlsson added one to the 4-3 victory. Corey Perry had two goals, and Connor McDavid added another goal for the remaining 3:02, temporarily tied the game up before heartbroken.

Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Hub

It was a sloppy game for the family team, Vegas played desperately, and Edmonton had no match. The oilers shouldn't win the second game, but they did, and unfortunately, they weren't that lucky in this game. They didn’t manage the hockey well, didn’t have too many uncompulsory mistakes, and were under-scoring the goalkeeper. All of these mergers are not the secret to success. It was a bad show and they got what they deserved. That being said, it was a disappointing failure, and there were three gains.

The oil worker's quick starting point was erased

The Oilers made a rare quick start, leading 2-0 in the first 12 minutes. Unfortunately, they didn't keep it up and brought Vegas back into the game. They allowed two goals in 54 seconds to eliminate their quick start, which kept the crowd silent. The Oilers sat down and they didn't push the game as they advanced, tied up and even followed one of the third stage.

In the third phase, Edmonton dropped one. The defender's skates took the game away before they could equalize the game. Edmonton scored a big shot in the first half of the last frame. This won't cut it when looking for an equalizer. Goalkeeper Adin Hill has a bad playoff game and has been shaking throughout this series. Oilers need to throw everything online and they don't end with a 20-shot score.

Throughout the playoffs, depth loaded the team to a large extent, and it's time for the big gun to step up. Yes, McDavid tied the game in Game 3, but other than that, they were relatively quiet. They need to step up to take over a game, but not yet. This brings us to the next takeaway.

Leon Draisaitl's worst game as a oil machine?

Without icing, Leon Draisaitl is awful. He couldn't connect on the pass, and in some cases he almost missed the pass, resulting in frosting. He usually thinks of those, but it's slow. The German striker made all the mistakes in the game and hindered the team, which was unfortunate because he took them away throughout the season. He doesn't look like his normal self, so hopefully it's just a resting night, not a more serious thing.

In the Golden Knights' first goal, he was picked up in the neutral zone and shipped, resulting in a strange run. Then, in the second phase, he had a brutal giveaway that led to the onset of Las Vegas. This caused a cruel change in the subsequent sequence due to the tired players on the ice. Vegas quickly realized this and brought the puck to the ice, leading Edmonton's collapse and mental errors. Finally, to end the bad night, he redirected the puck to his Nets with the goal of 0.4 seconds left.

“We didn't solve it very well, let the puck get into the slot. After that, it was really unfortunate. It was unfortunate. It disappeared. It was unfortunate – I just wanted to get it out of the net. It was just a bad bounce,” Draisaitl said. This final goal finally brought his night to a peak and he would have been much better if they wanted to win the series.

Stuart Skinner's trouble continues

Calvin Pickard replaced Stuart Skinner in the third phase of Game 2 and has been Picard's net ever since. Unfortunately, he was listed as a daily job and announced that he would miss the third game. So Skinner is thrown back into the net, looking for redemption. However, this didn't happen because he stopped only 20 of the 24 shots to get the .833 percent savings (SV%) of rotten. Despite some key savings he made, he still needed some. So, let's dissect the goals he allows.

He probably should have the first goal. He stopped his initial shot but lost his balance and Roy slammed the rebound. Smith then took a huge move to beat the Oiler's five-hole network with a second goal. That doesn't have to be on the goalkeeper, but you want to save a lot, especially before you put in 54 seconds. Then, the third goal is the result of the brutal line changes that Vegas takes advantage of. Karlsson devoted himself to Noah Hanifin, his single training under Skinner's arm. There were a lot of mistakes in that game, but again this is a saveable hockey puck. If he squeezed his arm, he wouldn't go in, and his poor lateral movement was exposed again. The goal that won the game was due to Skinner's fake biting Smith, forcing the goalkeeper out of position. If you are not on the network, you can't save it and it's in a good location.

In three games, Skinner won the game championship twice in the late stage. He allowed a long-range breakthrough after the Oilers' miraculous comeback against the Kings in Game 1. Then, there is one, which is not good enough. He is 0-3 reasons, Pickard is 6-0 in these playoffs. Hopefully Pickard can play in Game 4, because Skinner is not the one who led Edmonton to a victory.

The Oilers have to be much better on Monday night (May 12) as they hope to lead the 3-1 series in Game 4. Hockey writer Throughout the playoffs.