This is an unfamiliar feeling for fans of the Vegas Golden Knights, as their club now trails their second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers two games to zero following Edmonton’s dramatic 5-4 overtime victory in Game 2 on Thursday night.
The Oilers have now stolen both games in Sin City as the series now shifts back to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
Leon Draisaitl connected on a two-on-one rush with Connor McDavid, who deked around a hapless Jack Eichel before feeding his superstar teammate for the overtime winner.
Golden Knights Fans Blast Officiating After Game 2 OT Loss
While the loss itself was disappointing enough, the fact that the on-ice officials decided not to call Edmonton’s Viktor Arvidsson for what was an obvious penalty just moments before Draisaitl’s overtime goal had Golden Knights fans furious.
One fan exclaimed, “Good win for the refs!”
Another fan couldn’t believe that a penalty wasn’t called, saying, “That was the most atrocious non-call I’ve ever seen. The refs were horrible, worse than Hill was during regulation.”
This fan seemed to sense that the series was already unofficially over, saying, “Wow. I’ve seen enough. The series is over. Next year it is I guess. Been a fan of this team for 10 years now. This performance was just terrible.”
This fan referenced a bad call Vegas experienced in 2019 against San Jose, saying, “In the same game you call a major penalty on Roy you gotta call that. This is San Jose Sharks all over again.”
Anothe fan called out the performance of goaltender Adin Hill, saying, “Knights deserved to win this game. Can’t let in two bad goals when the margins are this thin and Hill did. Yes he redeemed himself in OT but had he played better in regulation, no OT needed. Series not over but going to be as tough a task as this team has ever had now.”
Golden Knights Coach Bruce Cassidy Called Out Referee Gord Dwyer
When asked about the non-penalty call on Arvidsson on Brayden McNabb just moments before Edmonton’s game-winning goal, coach Bruce Cassidy pulled no punches against referee Gord Dwyer.
“Listen, Gord’s looking at it, he blew it,” he said. “He missed the call, I don’t know what else to say. It’s a can opener trip, it’s a dangerous play, but it didn’t get called, and you have to keep playing. Nabber is one of our guys, one of the most popular teammates in the room, so that’s a tough part of playing through it, it’s not as easy as it looks. We’re human.”
“But at the end of the day, that’s the task in front of you when those calls happen or don’t happen.”
The Golden Knights must win Game 3 on the road in Edmonton on Saturday night to avoid falling into an 0-3 series hole.