Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/16/2022

Time: 4 p.m. ET

Venue: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB

Where to watch: SNW, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain

DraftKings: Oilers -125, Golden Knights +105

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Oilers -120, Golden Knights +100

Golden Knights: 41-29-5

Oilers: 43-26-6

And just like that, with one emphatic victory over the Calgary Flames, the Vegas Golden Knights have declared they are, in fact, not dead yet and are well in full force of this playoff picture with seven games to go.

 

But they have to keep winning the rest of the way and that starts again on Saturday when the Golden Knights make the quick trip to Edmonton to take on the Oilers in a crucial game for all standings purposes.

 

Realistically, the Golden Knights are going to need help when it comes to the Los Angeles Kings’ cupcake schedule the rest of the way. Vegas trails the Kings by one point for third place in the division and sits two points behind the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars for both wild-card positions.

 

Vegas has seven games to go, but things are looking promising after Thursday night’s 6-1 win over the Calgary Flames that was due in part to a four-goal second period and an incredibly quiet, but efficient, 35-save performance from Logan Thompson.

 

Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson, via the line blender, each had a goal and two assists, and six different players scored for Vegas in a reminder that they might be the deepest team in the NHL when fully healthy.

 

"We're a veteran group," Marchessault said. "We know the importance of points at this time of the year, and we've worked hard the past month and a half to come back into a situation [where] we can control our destiny. And that's what we're going to do for the rest of the year."

 

The Golden Knights will have three winnable games at home that, likely, they will need to sweep in order to set up a crucial three-game, four-day trip to end the season that will determine their playoff fate. But right now, getting fresh bodies like Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty back in the fold during this final stretch is good enough to possibly make a charge.

 

Again, if you haven’t seen the Kings’ schedule for this final trip, you know why Vegas is hoping for some sort of hex or something to get them into the playoffs.

 

The Oilers are fighting for second place in the division and can put a strong grip on it with a win on Saturday. A Golden Knights win would absolutely make that more exciting with a few games to go, but trying to slow down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is no easy task.

 

The Oilers defeated the Nashville Predators 4-0 on Thursday with Draisaitl scoring a hat trick and Mike Smith shutting out the playoff-hopeful Preds, so of course we would get some topsy-turvy mess in the home stretch. If Mike Smith is playing well, God help everyone involved.

 

"We wanted to bounce back and have a better effort than we did in [Minnesota]," Smith said. "I think [it was] as complete an effort as you can have against a really good hockey team in their building.

 

"It's always tough to play in here. It's always a good atmosphere and the guys responded really well. Had a good start to the game, got up in the first and then kind of just carried the momentum of that throughout the whole 60, so it was good to see."

I hate being a prisoner of the moment, but if you’re a Golden Knights fan and you didn’t feel great after that game on Thursday, then you’re really that much of a pessimist. Thompson has earned the right to start that game, and if that offense can get back to transition opportunities and capitalizing on the rush, along with playing the same way they did in shutting out the Oilers back in February, the Knights are going to be in good shape. Golden Knights win 4-2

Golden Knights are 16-8 against division opponents this year.

Golden Knights are 59-33 the past two seasons after playing two straight division games.

Oilers are 18-5 against division opponents this season.

Oilers are 10-1 this season after allowing a goal or less the previous game.

Golden Knights:

Mattias Janmark -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault

Max Pacioretty -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone

Evgenii Dadonov -- William Karlsson -- Michael Amadio

Jake Leschyshyn -- Nicolas Roy -- Keegan Kolesar

Ben Hutton -- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Alec Martinez -- Zach Whitecloud

Logan Thompson

Oilers:

Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Zach Hyman -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto

Warren Foegele -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Derek Ryan

Derick Brassard -- Ryan McLeod -- Zack Kassian

Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci

Duncan Keith -- Evan Bouchard

Brett Kulak -- Tyson Barrie

Mike Smith

Points: Jonathan Marchessault -- 63

Goals: Jonathan Marchessault -- 29

Assists: Chandler Stephenson -- 40

Goalie: Logan Thompson -- 8-4-0, 2.43 GAA, .925 SV%

Points: Connor McDavid -- 110

Goals: Leon Draisaitl -- 54

Assists: Connor McDavid -- 68

Goalie: Mike Smith -- 12-9-2, 3.04 GAA, .907 SV%