Shades of '23, Oilers clash with Golden Knights again in second round
A quick look at the second-round NHL playoff series between the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights that starts Tuesday with Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena:
PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Golden Knights won a second-round series in six games in their last and only playoff meeting with the Oilers in 2023, when Vegas went on to lift the Stanley Cup. Leon Draisaitl scored four goals for Edmonton in a 6-4 loss in Game 1. The Knights retain 15 players from their Cup-winning lineup. Edmonton carries 15 from the roster that lost Game 7 to the Florida Panthers in last year's Cup final.
SEASON SERIES
Split 2-2-0 with Edmonton outscoring Vegas 11-10. The Oilers scored three times in the second period of a 3-2 victory in their last meeting, April 1, when captain Connor McDavid was scratched with an undisclosed injury.
BIG GUNS
Edmonton's McDavid and Draisaitl combined for five goals and 21 assists in the first round. Thomas Hertl, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone totalled six goals and eight assists between them for Vegas. Eichel led the Golden Knights in the 2023 ouster of the Oilers with three goals, six assists and a plus-9 rating in six games.
BIG MINUS
The Oilers are still without defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who sat out the first round with an undisclosed injury. Ekholm is the unflappable linchpin on the back end, both even strength and on special teams. He's also the insurance policy when defence partner Evan Bouchard jumps up on offence.
Golden Knights' leading scorer and 35-goal man Pavel Dorofeyev is said to be day-to-day with an undisclosed injury sustained in a Game 5 overtime win over the Wild. Victor Olofsson plugged in for Dorofeyev on the top power-play unit.
IN GOAL
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Knoblauch was cagey about his goaltending situation Monday, but if he goes with Calvin Pickard, Vegas netminder Adin Hill is by far the more experienced at a career 16-8 in the post-season, including the Cup-clinching game in 2023. Was named to Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster, but didn't play. Pickard took over for Stuart Skinner in the first round to go 4-0 for a career 5-1. Pickard stopped 20 shots in the April 1 win over the Knights.
X FACTORS
With three goals and two assists in the first round, bottom-six forward Connor Brown provides depth scoring the Oilers need when McDavid and Draisaitl get all the attention from the opposing defence.
Brett Howden averaged just under 13 minutes a game in the first round for Vegas, but scored three goals on 10 shots, including the OT winner in Game 5, and was plus-1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
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