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The Edmonton Oilers finally turned in the defensive effort they’ve been looking for since the Olympic break ended.Walking into Sin City, the Oilers needed to win against the Vegas Golden Knights. The playoff race had tightened around them, and a loss would have put them six points back of the division lead. It was safe to say that this was the biggest game of the season for Edmonton thus far, and they delivered.The entire team turned in a solid 60 minutes where they clamped down defensively and found ways to capitalize with a 4-2 victory over Vegas. Depth scoring finally came through with all of Vasily Podkolzin, Trent Frederic, and Kasperi Kapanen getting goals, as well as Leon Draisaitl netting the eventual winner.Connor Ingram gave the team some solid goaltending as well, turning aside 24 of the 26 shots he faced for a .923 save percentage.“I thought we did everything we’ve been talking about,” Ingram told reporters after the game. “We talked about packing it in, in the d-zone, and just playing good defence. We’re good enough, we’re gonna get chances no matter what, so as long as we take care of the puck in [the defensive end] we’re gonna be fine.”> "I think this is a good example of what we can do."> > After stopping 24 shots in tonight’s #Oilers victory in Vegas, Connor Ingram chats with the media. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/b63Yyre9Vl> > — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 9, 2026Podkolzin has been a difference-maker for this team over the past little while. He scored a beauty in the third period to regain the lead for Edmonton. That gave him a career-high 15 goals on the season and markers in back-to-back games.On top of that, he added four hits to his totals as well.“Got some luck at times,” Podkolzin said. “I try to put myself in good spots for some moments and yeah, get some luck.“We’re in the part of the season where we should grind and should fight for each other.”> "We’re at the part of the season where we should grind & fight for each other."> > Vasily Podkolzin shares his thoughts on the #Oilers night after a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/mYZ5iCCgv0> > — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 9, 2026The win gives Edmonton 70 points on the season, which is just two back of the second-place Golden Knights and three back of the division-leading Anaheim Ducks. More importantly, it puts them three points up on the Seattle Kraken and four ahead of the San Jose Sharks.At this point, they are just as far away from taking the division lead as they are from falling out of a playoff spot. Every single game going forward will carry some extra weight.“I think every game from here on out is just fight and claw,” Ingram said. “It’s time to go to work, and that’s what we did today. I think if we keep this effort and this mindset of just nose to the grindstone, and I think we’ll be okay.“That’s the goal, for sure.”> AirPodz 💨 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/N5JT5GENCp> > — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 9, 2026It won’t get much easier for Edmonton as the league-best Colorado Avalanche are up next, as the two will collide in Denver on Tuesday night.