Bouchard scores in overtime as Oilers beat Golden Knights 4-3

The Edmonton Oilers will take on the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday after a feisty affair in Las Vegas on Thursday.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. — Evan Bouchard scored at 3:10 of overtime, shortly after Edmonton killed off a Vegas penalty, and the Oilers defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 in a game Thursday night with playoff implications.

The Oilers extended their lead for second place in the Pacific Division to two points over the Golden Knights. They are five points behind first-place Anaheim.

Edmonton captain Connor McDavid scored a goal and picked up two assists. His first assist gave him 800, the third-fastest player to reach that milestone. He got there in 785 games, behind only Wayne Gretzky (527 games) and Mario Lemieux (661).

McDavid, who has 121 points this season, has scored four goals in three games. Matt Savoie, a 22-year-old rookie, scored a goal for his fourth point (three goals, one assist) over six games since joining the top line. Zach Hyman also scored and Connor Ingram made 26 saves.

Mark Stone ended his post-Olympics goal-less skid by hitting the back of the net twice for the Golden Knights, who have lost five of six games. Ivan Barbashev had a goal and an assist and Adin Hill finished with 25 saves.

This was a chippy game from the beginning between teams that have represented the Western Conference in the past three Stanley Cup Final series. The first period ended with a multiple-player brawl that resulted in linesman Kilian McNamara inadvertently catching a stick in the face and two players from each team taking 2-minute minor penalties.

The intensity was not surprising given there’s a good chance the teams will meet in the playoffs. Edmonton ousted Vegas in five games of their second-round series last season.

They will meet each other in the first round of this year’s playoffs if the standings hold.

Up next

Oilers: Host Anaheim on Saturday.

Golden Knights: Host Washington on Saturday.

Mark Anderson, The Associated Press