Vegas vets spells out Golden Knights' secret sauce for winning. Can Oilers copy it?

Said Milard: “I haven’t had a chance to catch up with you since the pinch that you made that led to the overtime goal. You could have easily played a safe there and backed off. You didn’t. What made you be aggressive?”

Said Hague: “We’re trying to win a game. And I wouldn’t say it was a huge, a huge risk, right? We’re like, it’s kind of the way we play. We’re all kind of feel for each other, right? So if, you know, I anticipate that and go down the wall. And I think in that particular play, it was the key. See, he fills high for me right away. So if something were to happen, puck bounces by me or the guy, you know, pokes it off me or checks me or whatever, there’s someone in my spot, you know, filling for me… That’s the way we play. We’re just kind of five guys supporting all over the ice. It’s with the puck, without the puck.

Hague continued: “Obviously we want to try to keep pucks alive in the o-zone and we’re out there to win a game, right? Not sit back and, you know, hope something good happens. You kind of want to go out and, you know, force something to happen for you. So it’s a little bit of the mindset, I guess.”

My take

1. What is the secret sauce? It’s as wonderfully simple as a forward or two filling in for a d-man when he pinches in the neutral or offensive zone. It’s one out of three forwards in the offensive zone aware of the danger of enemy counterattacks and making sure he’s there in the high slot area to help out his d-man in case of a break-out.

It’s the support that Vegas d-men are confident they will get, but it’s not something any Oilers d-man can count on.

2. For most of this season and in every playoff game except Edmonton’s brilliantly executed Game 5 win against Los Angles, the Oilers were relatively erratic and undisciplined on defence.

All three forwards would often get too deep on the attack. Forwards were too slow/lazy on the backcheck. Forwards made turnovers at the offensive blue.

As for the d-men, some of them kept getting caught out of position, often through over-aggression and/or risky decision-making.

As a team the Oilers often were caught puck watching in their own zone, all eyes on the puck carrier, no one looking at or covering the danger man coming in late to the slot to take a pass and hammer on net a Grade A shot.

If this continues against Vegas, the Oilers are certain to lose the series.

3. I’ll suggest there’s a 50 per cent chance it will continue. Bad habits and bad decision-making are hard to overcome, though Edmonton showed last year in the playoffs and in Game 5 against Los Angeles — when they allowed just six Grade A shots the entire game — that they have it in them to play superior defensive hockey, just as Vegas is more inclined to do on a regular basis.

4. Vegas beat the Oilers in 2023 because Edmonton’s man-to-man defensive system broke down too often, leading to Vegas out-numbering the Oil at the Edmonton net. At the same time, Vegas clogged the slot with solid d-men and forwards. But their most successful player in that regard, ace veteran Alec Martinez, is no with VGK.

Such a smart defender, Martinez, in turns patient and forceful, excellent at reading the play and understanding where the danger was coming from, something that several veteran Oilers d-men still struggle to grasp.

I’m glad Martinez has moved on from VGK. He’s been replaced by Noah Hanifin. Vegas still relies heavily on the old stick-swinger, Alex Pietrangelo, who is 35 now. That’s the same age as Martinez in 2023.

The sharp teeth and brick wall of the Vegas zone allows smart, older vets like them to thrive.

5. The Oilers are going to have to get big, gutsy and forceful attackers right near the net to beat the zone, then fire in outside shots and slam home the rebounds.

If Edmonton wins, players like Corey Perry, Zach Hyman, Trent Frederic, Evander Kane and Vasily Podkolzin will have to score a goal or two per game. It won’t be enough for Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to weave their thrilling plays.

The goals will be score in tight, on the kill shot corner, right in front of the Vegas goalie.

6. No other team can score with the Oilers now that the Avs are out of the playoffs at least. But Vegas will win this series if they play better defence than the Oilers. The Oilers will win if they play it smart, prevent odd-man rushes, and do what they always do on the attack, with a special focus on having a strong net front presence.

Will they? I hope so.

Oilers in seven.

P.S. I hate St. Louis. Glad they are out of the playoffs. I mean, great move stealing Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. Brilliant.

And a colossal screw up by Holland and Jackson.

But I still hate the Blues.

The only consolation? I like John Klingberg to win this year more than Broberg.