After rallying from a 2-0 deficit to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference first round, the Edmonton Oilers head to Las Vegas to take on the Pacific Division champion Vegas Golden Knights in a best-of-seven series beginning Tuesday night.
It’s just the second time the Western Conference heavyweights have met in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Two seasons ago, Vegas was trailing 2-1 in a key Game 5 in Edmonton when it scored three goals in an 89-second span to pull out a 4-3 victory. The Golden Knights eliminated the Oilers in six games in that second-round series en route to winning the 2023 Stanley Cup.
Safe to say that playoff loss still stings for Edmonton.
“That one stuck with us going into last year, and now we’ve got a chance at revenge,” Oilers forward Mattias Janmark said.
“They beat us and went on to win the Cup,” forward Zach Hyman added. “We definitely want to even things up. It’s different teams, different players, but the same core.”
Kris Knoblauch was coaching Hartford in the American Hockey League the last time the two teams met in the playoffs. Knoblauch later replaced Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12, 2023, and coached Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Final last season, where the Oilers suffered a bitter 2-1 loss in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers.
“I see a bunch of guys who are motivated no matter who the opponent is,” Knoblauch said. “Maybe there was some hatred (toward Vegas), I don’t know, but I would think that no matter who we are playing, guys would be in the same frame of mind they are right now.”
Edmonton star center Connor McDavid, the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs, said he is looking forward to facing Vegas.
“It’s difficult any time you lose in the playoffs, especially when you feel like you had a good team,” McDavid said. “They’re a great team, and it was only a couple years ago that they beat us. They’re a proven group, battle-tested. It’s going to be a great series.”
McDavid, 28, is a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner as league MVP and a five-time league scoring champion. He and his sometimes-linemate Leon Draisaitl, who led the league this season with 52 goals and won the Hart Trophy for the 2019-20 campaign, will be the focus of a Golden Knights defense that ranked third in allowing just 2.61 goals per game.
“I think when they’re on the ice together, it’s fun to watch … if you’re a fan,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said with a smile. “You have to make sure you have your ducks in a row, how you want to defend. That’s the biggest challenge. One little slip-up and off they go.”
“Two of the best players in our game, and we are going to need to account for them when they are on the ice,” Vegas center Jack Eichel told NHL.com. “They do a lot of damage.”
McDavid, who had 100 points this season (26 goals, 74 assists), has 128 career playoff points (39 goals, 89 assists) in 80 games.
The Golden Knights grinded out a six-game victory over the Minnesota Wild in their first-round series, winning the final three games by one goal, including two in overtime.
Eichel (one goal, four assists) and center Tomas Hertl (three goals, two assists) led Vegas with five points apiece in the series. Goaltender Adin Hill went 4-2 with a 2.83 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage.
“We wanted to try and hunker down defensively and make (the Wild) earn what they got,” Eichel said. “I think as the series went on, we made it tougher on them. Just a ton of credit to the group, finding a way to win, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters at this time of year.”
–Field Level Media
