2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Golden Knights vs. Oilers 2nd-round preview

McDavid, Draisaitl lead potent Edmonton offense against Stone, Eichel of Vegas in best-of-7 series

By Shawn P. Roarke

@sroarke_nhl NHL.com Senior Director of Editorial

May 02, 2023

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features eight teams in four best-of-7 series, which start Tuesday.

Today, NHL.com previews the Western Conference Second Round between the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers.

(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (2P) Edmonton Oilers

Golden Knights: 51-22-9, 111 points; 4-1 to win first round against Winnipeg Jets

Oilers: 50-23-9, 109 points; 4-2 to win first round against Los Angeles Kings

Season series:VGK 1-2-1; EDM 3-0-1

Game 1:Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS)

This may well be the marquee matchup of the second round, featuring star players on each side as well as the two most evenly matched teams left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Golden Knights finished two points ahead of the Oilers in what was a season-long dogfight for the Pacific Division title.

That slim margin earned Vegas home-ice advantage, which could be huge in this series.

But the Oilers closed the regular season with a nine-game winning streak and have won 13 of their past 15 games, including the playoffs. Also, they took seven of a possible eight points (3-0-1) in the four games they played against Vegas during the regular season.

"They're a good team, they won the division, so we know what we're up against," Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "They have a high-powered offense, and they have some really good D that can move the puck as well. They're a really good team, but we're a good team as well, so I think it's going to be a really good series and a good matchup."

There are stars all over the ice.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is the best player in the game today. In the regular season, he had a League-leading 153 points (64 goals, 89 assists), 25 more than teammate Leon Draisaitl (52 goals, 76 assists).

In the playoffs, those two players combined for 21 points. Draisaitl, who has 11 points, is tied for the NHL goal lead (seven) with Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche.

Vegas answers with Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, two of the top four scorers for the Golden Knights in the postseason.

Stone missed the last three months of the regular season after sustaining a back injury that required surgery, returning for Game 1 of the playoffs. He finished the first round with eight points (three goals, five assists), tied for the team lead with Chandler Stephenson.

"He's a pretty good player," said Eichel, who has five points (three goals, two assists) in his first career appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "I think everyone saw that in the first series. He's a huge part of our team. We played a big chunk of the season without him.

"We were just keeping our ace in the hole, really. Credit to him, all the work that he's put in to get back in this position to be able to be out there during the playoffs with us. He's a huge part of our team, both on and off the ice. He's going to be a huge factor in this series."

McDavid was chosen No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft; Eichel was No. 2.

The difference could come in goal, where each team is rolling with an untested player.

Laurent Brossoit, 30, broke into the NHL with the Oilers during the 2014-15 season but has never played more than 24 games in any regular season. He had 27 minutes of NHL postseason experience before playing in all five games this postseason (.915 save percentage).

Stuart Skinner, 24, is a legitimate Calder Trophy candidate as rookie of the year who is making his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was 3-2 against the Los Angeles Kings with a .890 save percentage. He was pulled in Game 4 after allowing three goals on 11 shots.

"[Skinner is] going through it for basically for the first time, so that's the interesting part of this matchup, the limited experience of both goaltenders in playoff hockey and how is that going to play out," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said.

We will find out starting Wednesday.

Game breakers

Golden Knights: Mark Stone. The Vegas captain missed the final three months of the regular season but returned for Game 1 against the Winnipeg Jets. He struggled in that first game, going a minus-3 in the loss. In the four wins that followed, Stone scored eight points and was plus-8. Not only that, Stone was a difference-maker in the defensive zone, flashing more and more signs of being the Selke Trophy candidate he has been in the past.

Oilers: It is Connor McDavid. We don't want to overthink this. Yes, his running mate Leon Draisaitl leads the team in scoring with 11 points. But the Edmonton captain remains the most important player on the team. He makes everything go. McDavid has played 43 NHL postseason games and has 65 points (24 goals, 41 assists). His 1.51 points per playoff game is the fourth-best among forwards with at least 40 appearances. Wayne Gretzky (1.84), Draisaitl (1.63) and Mario Lemieux (1.61) are the players ahead of him.

EDM@LAK, Gm3: McDavid rips home second PPG of game

Goaltending

Golden Knights: Laurent Brossoit is the unquestioned starter for the Golden Knights, earning the job with a solid first-round performance that saw him go 4-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. The 30-year-old started his NHL career with the Oilers, playing 28 games as a backup between the 2014-15 season and 2017-18. After three seasons with the Jets, he signed as a free agent with Vegas before the 2021-22 season. He has never played more than 24 games in an NHL season and was limited to 11 games (10 starts) this regular season because of an injury and a stint in the American Hockey League.

Oilers:Stuart Skinner took the No. 1 job and ran with it in the second half of the season. The rookie was part of the 2023 NHL All-Star Game and finished the regular season with a 29-14-5 record with a .914 save percentage and 2.75 GAA. He has not been as good in the postseason, going 3-2 with a .890 save percentage and a 3.43 GAA. He was pulled in Game 4 and replaced by Jack Campbell, who was the No. 1 goalie at the start of the season.

Numbers to know

Golden Knights: Vegas had 101 blocked shots against the Jets, the 12th-highest total in the first round. This after Vegas led the League with 1,494 blocks during the regular season, 171 more than the next-closest team that qualified for the playoffs, the New York Islanders (1,323). Against an offensively adept team like the Oilers, it is vital that Vegas finds its groove in getting in front of pucks. Not only will it eliminate scoring opportunities, but it can help the Golden Knights trigger their dangerous transition game.

Oilers: Edmonton had 16 power plays against the Kings and scored on nine, an eye-popping conversion rate of 56.3 percent. It was no fluke either; the Oilers had a 32.4 success rate in the regular season, more than six percentage points better than the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs (26.0). Draisaitl (32) and McDavid (21) combined for 53 power-play goals in the regular season. The Golden Knights, as a team, had 42, led by nine from Jonathan Marchessault.

X-factors

Golden Knights: Brett Howden is a key piece of the third line, playing alongside Stone and Stephenson as his north-south game is perfectly suited for playoff hockey. Howden has four points (two goals, two assists) and his plus-8 leads the team. He has been a different player than the one in the regular season that had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) and was plus-5 in 54 regular-season games.

VGK@WPG, Gm4: Howden gets Golden Knights on board

Oilers: Evan Bouchard has had a coming-out party for the Oilers in the first round. After scoring 40 points (eight goals, 32 assists) in 82 regular-season games, Bouchard had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in the first round, which leads all defensemen in the playoffs. He is the point man on a power play that is absolutely lethal and he has scored eight of his points on it. He provides a second level of attack behind McDavid and Draisatl.

They said it

"I think there's a lot of good that we can take from our game and what made us successful in that series into this series. We know we need to be better. We know we're going to have a tough opponent here and it's going to be more competitive. But, you know, I think it's a great challenge for our group. I think everyone's looking forward to it." -- Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel

"You learn that as you get older that it's a process, you mature, you know how to handle yourself better in these situations, you know the ups and downs a little better and maturity is a key factor in the playoffs. We're maturing as we speak, but we're learning and we're getting better." -- Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl

Will win if …

Golden Knights:They limit their penalties and win the 5-on-5 battle. Vegas needs to play in the Edmonton defensive zone to keep the most potent players of the Oilers from being on the attack. It is also less likely that penalties are committed while playing offense, considering Edmonton scored on more than half its power-play opportunities.

Oilers:Their best players lead the way. When McDavid and Draisaitl are at the top of their game, the Oilers are an absolute wagon and matchups and depth don't really matter. When the top players struggle, however, opposing teams have found a way to establish the matchups they want and exploit the lack of offensive depth that has often been an Achilles' heel for this team.