‘Dirty play’: Knights lose Game 2 after tripping penalty isn’t called in OT

The play was such a hot topic that even rapper Lil Wayne was posting on social media about it.

It was also a missed call that could haunt the Golden Knights the rest of their second-round series with the Edmonton Oilers.

Defenseman Brayden McNabb crashed hard into the boards in overtime after being tripped by Edmonton Oilers right wing Viktor Arvidsson in Game 2 of the second-round series between the two teams at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. No penalty was called. McNabb needed time to get to his feet but skated to the Knights’ bench under his own power.

The game ended 17 seconds later.

Oilers left wing Leon Draisaitl finished off a two-on-one with captain Connor McDavid with 4:40 remaining in overtime to give the Oilers a 5-4 victory. Edmonton leads the best-of-seven series 2-0. Game 3 is at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Referee Gord Dwyer, the official closest to Arvidsson’s trip on McNabb in the Knights’ zone, blew his whistle for an injury after he saw McNabb was hurt.

Captain Mark Stone blocked a shot to force the Oilers to retreat on the subsequent faceoff, but Edmonton regained possession in its own zone. McDavid then received the puck in the neutral zone with speed, dangled around center Jack Eichel and fed Draisaitl for a quick one-timer.

Lil Wayne later wrote on X: “Knights just got robbed.”

“Listen, Gord is looking at it. He blew it. He missed the call. I don’t know what else to say,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s a can-opener trip. It’s a dangerous play. It’s all those things. But it didn’t get called, so you have to keep playing.”

Stone yelled at the officials as the Knights went back to their locker room after the game. He called it a “pretty clear-cut penalty.”

Losing McNabb — who has played in all but one of the team’s past 297 games — was a tough blow. The Original Misfit is a reliable, rugged defensive presence. He and his partner, Shea Theodore, were trusted to match up with McDavid at five-on-five most of the night.

“Pretty clear it’s a penalty,” Stone said. “But that’s hockey. You don’t always get the calls, and now we may be down another d-man. We’ll see tomorrow, but it’s just a dirty play and we don’t get the call.”

Climbing back

The Knights were already down a forward in overtime when McNabb was tripped.

Center Nicolas Roy was whistled for a five-minute major penalty and given a game misconduct for cross-checking Oilers left wing Trent Frederic 5:37 into overtime.

The call gave Edmonton’s stars plenty of time to end the game. But the Knights’ penalty kill was excellent and improved to 5-for-5 in the series.

“It took a lot of energy to kill the penalty, but we got it done,” Stone said. “We got momentum, but they made a play. It’s unfortunate.”

Draisaitl’s goal ended a game that featured a furious Knights comeback. They trailed 4-2 1:51 into the third period when left wing Evander Kane’s shot rolled over goaltender Adin Hill’s pads and into the back of the net.

Right wing Victor Olofsson scored his second power-play goal of the game 2:40 later to cut the Knights’ deficit to 4-3. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, back in the lineup after missing Game 1 with an illness, then tied the game with 8:02 remaining in regulation.

The Knights’ special teams play has been stellar through two games. But the Oilers have outscored them 9-3 at even strength after Draisaitl’s overtime winner.

Eichel had three assists for the Knights. Hill made 32 saves. He was great at times, but his shaky second period forced the Knights to rally.

Another quick start

The team did take advantage of an early power play to grab a 1-0 lead for the second straight game. Olofsson fired a one-timer from the right circle that beat Edmonton goaltender Calvin Pickard 8:42 into the first period.

The Oilers answered with three consecutive goals in the second period. Defenseman Jake Walman tied the game with 8:29 to go when his shot bounced off McNabb and into the net.

Left wing Vasily Podkolzin beat Hill from distance 3:47 later to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead. Defenseman Darnell Nurse scored off another long-range shot 1:59 after that.

“There’s positions and areas of the game you have to outplay them, and he’s going to have to do that at some point,” Cassidy said of Hill. “That’s the makeup of any series, usually.”

Center William Karlsson answered with 1:50 left in the second period to cut the Knights’ deficit to 3-2.

Digging deep

The team faces a 2-0 series deficit for the second time in franchise history. The Knights came back the last time, winning four straight to eliminate the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the second round in 2021.

This time, however, they dropped both games at home. Edmonton has plenty of momentum heading to Rogers Place and is sure to be welcomed home by a raucous crowd for Saturday’s Game 3.

The Knights will need to dig deep to fight their way back into this series.

“We could have easily won the game. We should have won the game. I thought we played good enough to win, but we didn’t,” Stone said. “So we’re in an 0-2 hole going to Edmonton. It’s a long road, but it starts with one.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.