$112,000,000 Oilers forward makes feelings known about his defensive miscues in heartbreaking loss to Knights

Leon Draisaitl spoke to reporters after the Edmonton Oilers' 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 on Saturday. He took responsibility for two defensive mistakes that led to goals. One came in the first period when he lost the puck, which helped set up a quick goal.

The second happened with less than a minute left when the puck deflected off his stick and into the net. Draisaitl said he was just trying to keep the puck out.

"Obviously, we didn't sort it out very well to let the puck get into the slot," Draisaitl said (0:08). "But I think after that, it's just unlucky. It's unfortunate. Obviously it goes off my stick. I'm just trying to keep it out of the net, obviously, and it's just a bad bounce."

The Golden Knights scored two first-period goals in a span of a minute in the first period. Before this play, the Oilers were leading 2-0 but it erased their lead and gave a chance for the Knights to make a comeback.

"Yeah, obviously the first one I get stripped there, that puck should probably just go in," Draisailt said about allowing two quick goals (0:38). "So that's obviously on me. I think just the quickness of the two of them deflated us a little bit. So obviously something to look at."

Despite the loss, Draisaitl, who is the regular season's top goal scorer with 52 goals, provided two assists. He played over 20 minutes and recorded two shots with an even plus-minus rating. Draisaitl is signed to an eight-year, $112 million contract that will begin in the 2025-26 season.

Edmonton Oilers had a strong lead early in the game

Edmonton Oilers had a strong start in the game with Corey Perry's two goals in the first period. One came off a pass from Connor McDavid. The other was a power-play goal tipped from a shot by Evan Bouchard.

Vegas responded with three straight goals from Nicolas Roy, Reilly Smith, and William Karlsson (in the second period), making the score 3-2

McDavid tied the game 3-3, but Smith scored the winner with 0.4 seconds left.

"The game-winning goal, you know, we're in a good position," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said (0:42). "We've got, really, it's a one-on-three. He dumps a puck and they retrieve it, and we're just, playing a little desperate to try and make the play, block the shot. And what happens is they make a play, and unfortunate that's the end of it."

Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for Edmonton, and now, Game 4 is scheduled on Monday in Edmonton.