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(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (3P) Edmonton Oilers
Golden Knights: 50-22-10, 110 points
Oilers: 48-29-5, 101 points
Season series: VGK: 2-2-0; EDM: 2-2-0
Game 1: TBD at Vegas
The Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers will play against each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in the past three seasons.
The two teams met in a highly contentious Western Conference Second Round Series two seasons ago, the Golden Knights advancing in six games on the way to winning their first Stanley Cup two rounds later.
“I think we were playing really good at the time. We felt we had something really good going but we let it slip out of our hands a little, self-inflicted wounds,” Oilers forward Mattias Janmark said. “They’re a good team over there and they ended up winning and so for sure, that one stuck with us. Now we have a chance to get some revenge.”
Vegas used that win against Edmonton to jumpstart its game for the final two rounds on the way to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
“It was kind of back-and-forth, both teams trying to instill their will on the series and there were a lot of momentum swings,” Vegas forward Jack Eichel said. “It was an emotional series and there was a lot to it. I expect another battle.”
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy believes it will be harder this time around. The Oilers, he said, are as talented as they were two seasons ago and now they are more battle hardened with a long run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season and an impressive comeback in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.
“They are a heavyweight, that’s what they are,” Cassidy said. “That’s what is in front of us.”
Vegas advanced with a six-game series win against the Minnesota Wild, winning the final three games, including two in overtime. Edmonton eliminated the Kings in the first round for the fourth straight season, winning four straight after losing the first two games on the road.
This season, the two teams split the four regular-season meetings, each team winning two games in regulation.
Ivan Barbashev had five points (two goals, three assists), and defenseman Noah Hanifin (two goals, two assists) and Eichel (one goal, three assists) each had four points against the Oilers.
Leon Draisaitl led the Oilers against the Golden Knights with four points (two goals, two assists). Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor Brown each had a goal and two assists, and defenseman Darnell Nurse had three assists. Forward Zach Hyman scored two goals, and Connor McDavid had one assist.
Each team has the experience of a recent Stanley Cup Final appearance. The Golden Knights won it in 2023 before losing a seven-game series to the Dallas Stars in the first round last season. The Oilers are coming off last season's Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
“They have a really good team, went to the Final last year and we know it’s going to be a tough series,” Eichel said.
Game breakers
Golden Knights: William Karlsson had two points (one goal, one assist) in the first round, but he is likely the most important forward in this round. Why? Because of his versatility. He’ll start the series on a loaded top line with Eichel and Mark Stone. Cassidy stumbled upon the line late in the Wild series to stop Minnesota's rampaging first line, which dominated the first half of that series. It will be the attempted answer if the Oilers leave top forwards McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line in this series. If Edmonton breaks up its top line, Karlsson can slide to second-line center – where he spent most of the regular season – and give Vegas the depth it needs. He has 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 106 career postseason games.
Oilers: Yes, McDavid led the League in scoring in the first round with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) and Leon Draisaitl is the most dangerous scorer in the League this season (52 regular-season goals), but it is defenseman Evan Bouchard who will determine the fate of the Oilers. The Golden Knights have some elite defensive forwards and are confident they can limit the damage done by the top two forwards for Edmonton. But Cassidy said the Knights did not have to plan for a game-breaking defenseman in the first round. The Wild’s six defensemen combined for one goal and five assists. Bouchard, by himself, had seven points (four goals, three assists) in the first round. Four of those points came while quarterbacking the power play, which was another thing the Golden Knights didn’t have to game plan for last round.
Goaltending
Golden Knights: Adin Hill wasn’t a show stopper -- by any stretch of the imagination -- in the first round. His .880 save percentage is 14th among goalies with at least two starts in the first round. He was also pulled in a Game 3 loss. Since being removed to start the third period of that game, Hill has turned in three straight wins, with save percentages of .906, .909 and .935 -- winning two of those games in overtime. “'Hilly' got better, I thought more efficient, every game,” Cassidy said. In the 2023 postseason, he replaced an injured Laurent Brossoit in Game 3 of the series against the Oilers and won three of the final four games. This regular season, Hill started each of the four games against the Oilers and was 2-2-0 with a 2.82 GAA, .901 save percentage and one shutout.
Oilers: This is the Achilles’ heel for the Oilers, as it has often been. Calvin Pickard, the expected starter for Game 1, has won four straight games, but he has done it with a .893 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average. While those are not stellar numbers, they are better than the performance Stuart Skinner offered in the first two games. He allowed 11 goals on 58 shots and his .810 save percentage is the worst for any goalie that has started a game this postseason. The Oilers outscored their sub-par goaltending in the first round. It’ll be much harder to do this against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Numbers to know
Golden Knights: Vegas has a face-off percentage of 52.6, which is second in the first round. Edmonton is third-worst at 48.0 percent. Why is that important? Because the Golden Knights are a possession-based team and the more they have the puck the better they are. They can chase it, but they are in their element when they get possession and set up what Cassidy calls their “half-court offense.”
Oilers: McDavid and Draisaitl -- who has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) -- combined for 21 points in the first round. No team has more points from its top two scorers. The Kings were second with 19. Vegas’ top two scorers – Hertl and Eichel – have just 10 points (four goals, six assists).
They said it
"What got better was the guys we rely on and play a little more increased their level as we went on and it showed on the ice and in the win column." – Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy
“I’m looking forward to it, they’re a great team. Obviously, they’ve won, they’re solid through the back end, solid through the middle of the rink, are deep. There’s eight teams left, they’re all good, they’re left for a reason. We got our work cut out for us, but we’ll be ready to go.” – Edmonton captain Connor McDavid
Will win if…
Golden Knights: They contain the Oilers top line. Nobody shuts down McDavid and Draisaitl, who have been playing with veteran Corey Perry. If you can limit the damage they do, it’s up to the rest of the team to beat you. Yes, the Oilers are deeper this postseason, but the Golden Knights believe they are even deeper. Two postseasons ago, McDavid had five points in the first two games but was limited to five in the final four games. Draisaitl had six goals in the first two games but had none in the final four and was a minus-7.
Oilers: Improve the penalty kill. Edmonton was relatively disciplined against the Kings, facing 20 short-handed situations. However, they gave up goals on eight of them, a League-worst 60 percent success rate. Vegas had a 27.8 percent conversion rate against the Wild and was second in the League during the regular season (28.3 percent). The Kings were at a 17.9 percentage on the power play during the regular season. Vegas is a far more dangerous team with the man-advantage and it could be a tipping point here if the Oilers can’t get closer to the 78.2 percent rate at which they killed during the regular season.
How they look
Golden Knights projected lineup
William Karlsson -- Jack Eichel – Mark Stone
Brandon Saad --Tomas Hertl -- Keegan Kolesar
Ivan Barbashev -- Nicolas Roy – Reilly Smith
Tanner Pearson -- Brett Howden -- Victor Olafsson
Noah Hanifin -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague -- Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Akira Schmid
Scratched: Alexander Holtz, Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, Ilya Samsonov, Cole Schwindt
Injured: Pavel Dorofeyev (undisclosed)
Oilers projected lineup
Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Corey Perry
Evander Kane -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Zach Hyman
Trent Frederic -- Adam Henrique -- Connor Brown
Vasily Podkolzin -- Mattias Janmark-- Viktor Arvidsson
Darnell Nurse -- Evan Bouchard
Jake Walman -- John Klingberg
Brett Kulak -- Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Troy Stecher, Jeff Skinner, Derek Ryan, Kasperi Kapanen, Olivier Rodrigue, Joshua Brown, Max Jones, Cam Dineen
Injured: Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed)
