EDMONTON – Bets on John Tortorella as a late-season replacement coach continue to pay off for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Jack Eichel had three assists as the Golden Knights cruised to a big 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Brett Howden and Jeremy Lauzon each had a goal and an assist and Colton Sissons, Mark Stone and Rasmus Andersson also scored for the Golden Knights (35-26-16), who have won all three games since Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy on the bench and are 3-0-2 in their last five contests.
“I think we’re getting into the mindset of just playing fast hockey, controlling, moving our feet and playing really tight and aggressive teams and getting in people’s faces,” Sissons said. “We’re rebuilding our confidence and our strength in that department, so that’s been good.”
Vegas moved one point behind Edmonton and Anaheim, who share first place in the Pacific Division standings.
“I think we’re constantly trying to play fast, certainly playing up north. We had a lot of good minutes tonight,” said Tortorella, who joined Cassidy and Gerard Gallant as the third coach in Golden Knights history to record wins in their first three games as Vegas’ bench boss.
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“I thought (goalie Carter Hart) was really good. We had a few hiccups here and there, but I thought we stayed within ourselves and kept playing.”
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Hart recorded 31 saves to earn the win for Vegas.
“He just looks strong,” Tortorella said. “I don’t know anything about goaltending, but you can tell when a goaltender feels big. He looked big to me, he just feels strong and he made some key saves in key moments. He made some saves on the power play, so that was good.”
Lauzon had not scored in 112 games, dating back to February 22, 2024.
“It was a great moment. I’ve been waiting for it for a long time,” Lauzon said. “I thought our team played unbelievable tonight and it’s a big win for our club.”
Ivan Barbashev had two assists to give him 200 in his career.
Eichel assisted on the opener to help him reach his second straight 80-point season. No other player has reached the mark for the Vegas franchise. Eichel also recorded his 95th multi-point game, tying Jonathan Marchessault for second most in franchise history behind Mark Stone with 102, and his 25th three-point game with Vegas, tying Marchessault for second with the franchise, again behind Stone (31).
The Golden Knights needed a win against the Oilers after losing their previous three games with them this season and nine of their last 10 overall, including a five-game loss to Edmonton in the second round of last year’s playoffs.
“Everybody has bought in,” Sissons said. “We knew the level of urgency we had to come out and play a tough game on the road. It’s a tough place to play, against a rival, and I think everyone showed up and I’m proud of the effort.”
The Vegas win also represented Edmonton’s first regular-time loss to a division rival at home this season, falling to 9-1-2.
Evan Bouchard scored the lone goal for the Oilers (39-29-9) who snapped a five-game hitting streak to end the season.
“They could have been, what, five points (back)? Now it’s one, right? So, yeah, pretty big,” said Oilers forward Trent Frederic, who kept his sense of humor when asked how the players reacted in the locker room after the loss.
“It’s just back and forth, everyone telling everyone they make a lot of money. It’s all true. It seems like a lot of people are jealous.”
Edmonton played without star forwards Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 5, 2026.
&copies 2026 The Canadian Press
