The Oilers' small mistakes pile up in a “heartbreaking” loss to the Golden Knights

You simply can't make mistakes against elite teams.

That's the key takeaway from a game in which the Oilers lost 4-2 despite leading 2-1 with 10 minutes to play.

The first period of Wednesday's loss to the Vegas Golden Knights was a snoozefest, with both teams playing confident, defensive hockey but also managing to be too sloppy to capitalize on scoring opportunities.

The only excitement in the first half hour was a spectacular breakaway goal from Vegas' Jack Eichel, who took advantage of lax defense from Evan Bouchard and Jeff Skinner to break through the Oilers' zone and pick off Stuart Skinner. That's mistake number one, 1-0 Golden Knights.

Shortly after the 12-minute mark of the second period, the Oilers finally got on the field. Their barrage of low-rate point throws finally paid off when Brett Kulak deflected a point throw from Darnell Nurse – you read that right, Brett Kulak – past Adin Hill, tying the game at 1-1.

“Not in the NHL,” Kulak said with a smile after the game when asked if he had ever scored a deflected goal. “For the first time.”

Check out the 3 images in this gallery in the original article

It took an all-too-rare fluke to give the Oilers the lead about three minutes later. Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo attempted to spin the puck around the boards in his own court when it comically bounced off the boards and landed directly on Zach Hyman's stick. Hyman made no mistake, deflecting the puck away from Hill to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

Between Kulak's uncharacteristic goal and Hyman's accidental dive, it seemed like the Oilers' luck was finally turning. When Stuart Skinner made two remarkable saves after Leon Draisaitl lost the ball, that feeling became even stronger.

Then came the third period.

The game had settled back into the same slow rhythm as the first half until Ryan Nugent-Hopkins converted a penalty midway through the third period. The Oilers had already converted a penalty in the game, but luck didn't hurt them.

The Oilers struggled after a cross-ice pass from Vegas and were unable to get back into position as Noah Hanifin fired a shot from the point. It slipped through Skinner, who shouldn't have had a problem with it. Two more errors, a draw.

As a result, the Oilers' penalty rate fell to 59.5% in 14 games, the third worst always through so many games.

But it wasn't over yet.

Just when the game seemed destined for overtime, Mattias Ekholm was left completely alone in a puck battle at the Oilers' end. Losing that battle, the puck was sent past Evan Bouchard and out of position to Noah Hanifin, who hit Skinner over his shoulder for the dagger, his second goal of the game. Two more errors, 3-2 Golden Knights.

A goalless goal later and it was all over. A few small mistakes had a snowball effect, and the Oilers lost 4-2 to a division rival, dropping their season record to 6-7-1.

“It has to stop,” Ekholm said after the game, “and it has to stop now.”

Player of the game: Brett Kulak

Despite the loss, Kulak had one of his best games of the year. Not only did he score a goal – and a tip-in at that – but he also played solid minutes on two different pairings, alternating between Darnell Nurse's right side and Ty Emberson's left side.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch has made a habit of late of playing Kulak on his offside alongside Nurse, with positive results. If he can do that consistently, the Oilers will have another solid option for their struggling second pair.

Game play

In the halcyon days of the late second period, Stuart Skinner kept the Oilers ahead with two huge saves. We were all so young and full of hope back then.

Simply put, this is a loss that can't happen to the Oilers. Especially not now when they're just struggling to stay afloat. Against teams like Vegas, it's the mistakes that kill you, and the Oilers made too many on Wednesday night.

On Saturday evening in Vancouver they will have another chance to prove themselves.

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