3 Keys: Oilers at Golden Knights, Game 5 of Western 2nd Round

(2P) Oilers at (1P) Golden Knights

Western Conference Second Round, Game 5

Best-of-7 series tied 2-2

10 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS

LAS VEGAS --The Edmonton Oilers are hoping to be the first team to win back-to-back games in the Western Conference Second Round against the Vegas Golden Knights when they play Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

The Oilers are coming off a 4-1 win in Game 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton that evened the series at 2-2. The Golden Knights won Games 1 and 3, 6-4 and 5-1, respectively; the Oilers won Game 2, 5-1.

"It's down to crunch time," Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "It's been lopsided in two games for us, it's been lopsided in two games for them, and here comes the best of three. I think the temperature is rising."

The temperature rose near the end of Game 4, and that's why the Oilers and Golden Knights will each be without a top defenseman. Edmonton's Darnell Nurse and Vegas' Alex Pietrangelo will not play in Game 5, each serving one-game suspension.

Nurse was suspended for instigating a fight with Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague at 19:10 of the third period. Rule 46.21 stipulates that any player who instigates a fight in the final five minutes of a game receives an automatic one-game suspension.

Pietrangelo was suspended for slashing Leon Draisaitl at 18:33 of the third period.

Pietrangelo is averaging 24:37 of ice time per game in the playoffs, first on the Golden Knights and fourth among players still playing in the second round. Nurse leads all Oilers defensemen in ice time in the playoffs at 23:24 per game.

Philip Broberg is expected to return to Edmonton's lineup to replace Nurse, with Brett Kulak moving up from the third pair to play on the second pair with Cody Ceci.

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs, Oilers series coverage]

Ben Hutton will replace Pietrangelo for Vegas and play on the third pair with Zach Whitecloud. Hague is moving up to the top pair to play on the right side of Alec Martinez. Hutton will play on the second power-play unit. Shea Theodore will take Pietrangelo's spot on the top power play unit.

"Both teams lost a big-minute defenseman at the same time, that will be the story tonight," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We'll see who's able to handle it."

When a best-of-7 series is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 holds an all-time series record of 228-61 (78.9 percent), including a 4-0 record in the first round this year.

Here are 3 keys to Game 5:

1. Knights need to keep it 5-on-5

If it becomes a special teams game, it typically favors the Oilers. If it's a 5-on-5 game, it should favor the Golden Knights.

Game 4 went off that script because Edmonton controlled the play at 5-on-5 and the two teams combined to go 1-for-11 on the power play (the Oilers were 1-for-7; the Golden Knights 0-for-4), but in the balance of the four games, Vegas has outscored Edmonton 11-7 at 5-on-5.

The Oilers have outscored the Golden Knights in special teams, 7-2.

2. Hill's ability to bounce back

Adin Hill is in a tough spot, being thrown into the series in Game 3 because of the injury to Laurent Brossoit and starting Game 4, his first start since March 7. But the Golden Knights goalie has played in three straight games, including his 20 minutes of relief in Game 2, and needs to find a groove in Game 5 to give Vegas a chance to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

Hill gave up three goals on eight shots in the first 13:30 of Game 4, including the first two goals on back-to-back shots in a span of 52 seconds. This came after he was perfect against 24 shots in relief of an injured Brossoit in Game 3.

"Physically he's gotten lots of work," Cassidy said. "He didn't just pop on the ice. He's been practicing and getting lots of situational stuff with the extra guys. That part of it, the physical part of it, I think he's good. It's the mental part that of being sharp that is going to be a challenge for him and every period he gets under his belt, he should get better."

3. Ramping up the physicality again

The Oilers were the aggressors in Game 4, punishing the Golden Knights physically, particularly the defenseman. Edmonton was credited with 46 hits and Vegas 36, but the key was how the Oilers were in attack mode on the forecheck. It limited the Golden Knights' ability to break the puck out of the zone cleanly. It's how the Oilers controlled the play at 5-on-5.

Edmonton should be looking to follow a similar recipe in Game 5, only Vegas should expect it and it's up to its defensemen to move the puck quicker and the forwards to track back to give closer support to create cleaner breakout opportunities.

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Evander Kane -- -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto

Warren Foegele -- Ryan McLeod -- Derek Ryan

Klim Kostin -- Nick Bjugstad -- Mattias Janmark

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci

Philip Broberg -- Vincent Desharnais

Stuart Skinner

Jack Campbell

Scratched:Devin Shore

Injured: Ryan Murray (back)

Suspended:Darnell Nurse

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith -- William Karlsson -- Nicolas Roy

Brett Howden -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone

William Carrier -- Teddy Blueger -- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez -- Nicolas Hague

Brayden McNabb - Shea Theodore

Ben Hutton -- Zach Whitecloud

Adin Hill

Jonathan Quick

Scratched:Paul Cotter, Kaedan Korczak, Brayden Pachal, Pavel Dorofeyev, Phil Kessel, Michael Amadio, Jiri Patera

Injured: Logan Thompson (undisclosed), Laurent Brossoit (lower body)

Suspended: Alex Pietrangelo

Status report

Hyman did not take part in Edmonton's morning skate but will play. He has a lower-body issue sustained after a hit from Hague in the first period of Game 3. … Karlsson was absent from the morning skate but will play after his wife gave birth Thursday night. … Blueger will play for Vegas for the first time in the playoffs, replacing Amadio. Blueger was a healthy scratch for the previous nine games and hasn't played since April 13.