The Edmonton Oilers tied up their series with the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.
They’re also upset with an Alex Pietrangelo slash on Oilers star Leon Draisaitl that got the Golden Knights defenseman ejected late in the third period.
Draisaitl, who leads all playoff goal scorers with 13 goals, had unsuccessfully attempted to score into an empty net. Afterward, Pietrangelo raised his stick high and delivered a hard slash to Draisaitl’s arm with 1:27 left.
The league reviewed the play and confirmed a five-minute major and game misconduct for Pietrangelo. He did not get a match penalty, which would lead to an automatic review, though NHL Player Safety certainly will look at the infraction.
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“You’d like to see it reviewed, for sure,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who tangled with Pietrangelo after the play. “I would like to see it suspended. It’s as ‘intent to injure’ as you can get. Time, score, clock all play a factor.”
Said Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft: “If you’re asking my opinion on that play, I would not define it as a hockey play and I’ll leave it at that. I’m sure people will take a look at it.”
A total of 93 penalty minutes were called in the third period. That included Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse getting an instigator penalty in a fight with Vegas’ Nicolas Hague in the final minute. That could lead to a one-game suspension.
The Oilers won 4-1 with Nick Bjugstad and Evan Bouchard scoring 52 seconds apart in the first period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a 100-point scorer in the regular season, got his first goal of the postseason. So did defenseman Mattias Ekholm.
Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner made 25 saves, allowing only a third-period goal by Nicolas Roy.
“Big win for our group,” Woodcroft said. “Best-of-three from now on.”
Game 5 is Friday in Las Vegas.
