‘It’s do or die now’: Lack of urgency puts Knights on edge of elimination

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Golden Knights entered Monday trailing 2-1 in their second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers.

That should have made Game 4 at Rogers Place close to a must-win.

But the consensus in the Knights’ locker room after a 3-0 loss to the Oilers, one that put them on the brink of elimination, is they didn’t match Edmonton’s intensity.

“It didn’t seem like we had the same urgency they did,” right wing Reilly Smith said.

The Knights need to find it. Fast.

Edmonton, which improved to 8-0 in Game 4s since 2023, leads the series 3-1 and can close it out in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

Goaltender Adin Hill made 29 saves, but his teammates in front of him did nothing offensively. Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner made 24 saves for his first win, and shutout, of the postseason.

Edmonton center Adam Henrique scored two first-period goals, and left wing Evander Kane had a goal and an assist to put the Oilers one win away from their third trip to the Western Conference Final in four seasons.

“We put ourselves behind the 8-ball again,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.

The animosity between the Knights and Oilers was quiet for three games. The first period Monday more than made up for that.

Those 20 minutes ended up being the best from the Oilers all series.

Edmonton hadn’t played anything close to its best through three games. The Oilers had pockets of good hockey, but nothing sustainable.

Edmonton was on top of the Knights from the jump Monday after its last-second loss in Game 3 on Saturday. The Oilers were the more physical team. They hit anything wearing a white sweater.

Edmonton caused chaos around Hill’s crease to the point he shoved any Oilers player that got within inches of him. He shoved right wing Zach Hyman for trying to crash the net. Hill went after Kane when his own teammate, defenseman Brayden McNabb, pushed Kane into him.

There were 22 penalty minutes handed out in the first period.

“They’re trying to exert juice after losing a game. That’s what they did,” Smith said. “We answered, but we have to play with a little bit more pace and urgency in our game.”

Hill wasn’t rattled. The Oilers just had a directive, and it worked.

Henrique opened the scoring 1:27 into the first period after defenseman Zach Whitecloud turned the puck over behind the net. Henrique added his second goal with 6:57 left in the first on a deflection in front that started the chaos with Kane.

“They came out in the first, had a hard push,” Eichel said. “Give us credit. I thought we stood up to them. You get behind, we obviously weren’t able to solve their goaltender.”

The Knights had their opportunities. They had three power plays in the first period. Two came after post-whistle scrums.

It didn’t matter. The Knights went 0-for-3 and were outshot 15-5 in the first.

“I don’t think we dictated the pace of the game,” Smith said. “That’s something we’ll have to fix next game.”

Edmonton went up 3-0 on a rush goal by Kane 7:38 into the second period. The Knights couldn’t get themselves back into the game. The Oilers took away the middle of the ice and had a 10-5 edge in high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five through two periods, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.

Smith said the Knights weren’t playing as a cohesive unit. They were dumping pucks in but all three forwards weren’t together on the forecheck.

“We just didn’t have the same unity with our group,” Smith said.

Eichel said the Knights were “probably a bit passive” and needed to put Edmonton on its heels more. Time is running out to do so.

The Oilers controlled Monday’s game even though captain Connor McDavid was held to one assist and center Leon Draisaitl, separated from McDavid to start a game for the first time this series, had no points. Edmonton’s depth made the difference.

The Knights now have to win three straight to keep their season alive.

“It’s do or die now,” Eichel said.

Series schedule

(Oilers lead 3-1)

Game 1: Oilers 4, Golden Knights 2

Game 2: Oilers 5, Golden Knights 4 (OT)

Game 3: Golden Knights 4, Oilers 3

Game 4: Oilers 3, Golden Knights 0

Game 5: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN)

*Game 6: Friday at Rogers Place, TBD

*Game 7: Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, TBD

*if necessary