The Oilers head home to Rogers Place for Game 3 against the Golden Knights on Monday night after splitting the first two games of the series in Las Vegas.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet and CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 6:00 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO

OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 3 vs. VGK

PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft

PRE-GAME RAW | Mattias Ekholm

PRE-GAME RAW | Leon Draisaitl

PRE-GAME RAW | Evander Kane

RECENT VIDEOS

RAW | Coach Jay Woodcroft

POST-RAW | Coach Woodcroft

POST-RAW | McDavid & Draisaitl

POST-RAW | Evan Bouchard

BY THE NUMBERS

Oilers Statistics

Golden Knights Statistics

Stats Comparison

Game Notes

RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES

POST-GAME: Oilers flex their muscle

GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Golden Knights 1

BLOG: RNH aiming for more offence

VIEWING INFORMATION

You can watch Monday's game on Sportsnet West at 6:30 p.m. MT.

INSIDE THE OILERS

News and notes from the Oilers win over Vegas on Saturday, including their willingness to flex their team toughness in Game 2.

**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**

PRE-GAME REPORT

EDMONTON, AB - The Oilers have a huge opportunity to take control of their second-round matchup against the Golden Knights with a tied series and a pair of home games on the docket.

The team is coming off their best performance of the series, and perhaps the playoffs, running roughshod over Vegas in a 5-1 win on Saturday. The hope is the Oilers can carryover their excellent execution into Monday's game at Rogers Place, but according to Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, it's not something you can count on it's something you have to earn.

"I'm not a big believer in momentum or carryover game to game. I think you have to go out and re-establish things," Woodcroft said. "Each game is its own entity. I think we went down to Vegas and we earned a split, but at the same time, our focus is not on what's in the rear view mirror, it's directly in front of us. For us, that's to try and win a home game in front of our passionate fan base."

The blueprint for a Game 3 victory has been drawn up and it's up to the Oilers to follow it. Another 60 minutes of controlling the puck, supporting each other in the offensive zone, and capitalizing on the Golden Knights lapses in discipline and Edmonton can take their first lead of the series.

"[We're] just really focusing on the way we played in the second game and I think that's more the standard that we want to play with," Mattias Ekholm said. "I thought we were really connected all over the ice. I thought we did some really good things, not just the goals. I think the way that we actually played and executed out there and the game plan we wanted to present. That's where my mindset is, whether they're going to have to bring their best, we'll just focus on playing the same way."

Despite the Oilers Game 2 dominance, the Golden Knights won't just lie down and gift the Blue & Orange a free pass to the Western Conference Final. Vegas finished the regular season with a Conference leading 111 points, and they did it without their playoff scoring leader Mark Stone.

"The other day we were in Las Vegas and we talked about how our team down the stretch run had the record that it had, which was a pretty impressive record, but the team with the next best record was the Vegas Golden Knights," Woodcroft said. "One thing about them, when you dig into who they are, what their strengths are and everything like that - the one thing you realize is that they can score goals. So for us, it was quite clear the difference between Game 1 and Game 2 was our attention to detail on the defensive side of things. I think you have to respect the fact that they can score goals, but so can we."

BIG GAME PLAYERS

As the stakes have raised in the playoffs, so has the performance of the Oilers top players.

Leon Draisaitl is somehow improving upon his dominant performance in last year's postseason where he recorded 32 points (7G, 25A) in 16 games on a hobbled ankle. In eight games in 2023, the superstar has 13 goals and 17 points. The 27-year-old already has six goals in the second round, which is more than any non-eliminated player has in the entirety of the playoffs (only Mikko Rantanen has seven).

His 13 goals are the most through eight games in the history of the playoffs and he needs just seven more to break the NHL postseason record of 19 held by Jari Kurri and Reggie Leach. As prolific as Draisaitl has been, he's taking it all in stride.

"I've been on these [hotstreaks] before, so I'm just playing my game not overthinking," he said. "I'm just trying to do my part to help this team win. Some nights it works better than others. Lately it's been working. Hopefully it stays that way."

Draisaitl isn't the only one pushing his game to a new level. Connor McDavid has a quiet 15 points in eight games, but as impressively, Evan Bouchard has 14 points and a playoff leading 11 assists.

It's not only on the scoresheet that the Oilers are elevating their performance. Klim Kostin blocked a pair of shots late in the third period, garnering a standing ovation from the Edmonton bench and Kailer Yamamto took a big hit at the Golden Knights blueline and then proceeded to get up for a scoring chance and eventually an assist on Draisaitl's second goal of Game 2.

"I think it's just guys wanting to elevate their game in different areas of the game," Evander Kane said. "Obviously there's guys that you look at like Leo, he has 13 goals in eight games or whatever it is, but I think everybody's stepping up in different ways and I think you need that in a team. I think it's important at this time of the year to make sure you do elevate your game, because if you don't elevate your game in the playoffs, you're not going to go very far."

"We've got a lot of gamers on this team," Draisaitl said. "A lot of guys that like these moments and like to step up in these moments and help our team win. It's a collective effort but individually I think we got some gamers on this team that like these moments and enjoy and thrive in them."

Coach Woodcroft has said that the playoffs are the time of year that he hands over the reins to his leadership group. There will be small tweaks that the Oilers coach will make, but they are there to provide their players with the particulars needed to be successful and it is up to the guys in the locker room to execute and put in the work.

"For our top players, or players that may be on a quote-unquote bottom-six, we don't prod anybody," Woodcroft said. "We provide our players with information. We reward the people that are giving us what we need. We might dial back ice time if we don't think we're getting enough from certain others, but in the end, we're blessed with great people. Every single person in there works for each other and we're pushing to try and win."

SPECIAL TEAMS SUPERIORITY

The Oilers power play has been a major subject of discussion over the course of the postseason and that discourse has continued into their second-round matchup against the Golden Knights.

Prior to Game 3, Edmonton's magnificent man advantage has operated at a staggering 56.0 per cent through eight games. The Oilers have scored on the power play in every single game they have played this postseason and have five PPGs in the series first two games. Shockingly, the Oilers power-play is 3.6 percentage points better than the Vegas penalty kill over the course of the playoffs.

Golden Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy and his staff have been looking for answers, but none of presented themselves in stopping the Oilers versatile and historic power play.

"One thing that no one in this room is talking about is how Vegas has fundamentally changed their penalty kill from what they ran in the regular season, and we were prepared for that," Woodcroft said. "They're making adjustments here or there. We're prepared for it. The big thing for our group is everyone talks about the skill, what we talk about is being work based and what our high-end players have and what they bring to the table on a nightly basis. What they bring to that power play is a willingness to do the dirty work or win battles in order to find success."

There aren't a lot of secrets behind why the Oilers power play has been successful. The top unit of McDavid, Driasaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman, and Bouchard is blessed with talent and a dogged work ethic to retrieve pucks and keep their opponents PKers in the pressure cooker.

In addition, there is no one person or area of the ice you can key on. Want to try and take away Draisaitl at the circle? You've now opened up space for McDavid on the other side, like he did with his power-play goal on Saturday. Edmonton's attackers can also move around the offensive zone like chess pieces, attacking on either side of the ice.

The term used in this morning's media conference was 'fluid' and it was one that Draisaitl - who is a single PPG away from setting the NHL all-time regular season and playoff record with 39 - felt applied to the Oilers attack.

"That is our power play right there, you explained it," Draisaitl said. "I think sometimes power plays tend to get a little stagnant and slow moving and that's when it's predictable, right? You know where everyone's standing and I think that's what makes our power play so dangerous, that we got guys that can play in every situation in every spot. We take big pride in that."

On the other side of the coin, the Oilers penalty kill is not quite where it wants to be but is showing signs of life. Edmonton's kill is currently sitting at 67.9 per cent, which is 12th in the playoffs but there have been aspects that the Oiler coach has liked about his PK.

"We've given up one power play goal They got one on an empty net, for us internally, we wouldn't describe that as doing anything fundamentally wrong," Woodcroft said. "On the one penalty kill goal that we did give up, we thought there was an area we could better in, but our guys are going out there competing, they're blocking shots, and they're allowing us to win that special team battle. One flip of the coin is the power play. The other flip of the coin is the penalty kill. The way I see it right now is they have one power play goal, we have one shorthanded goal, so it's been a saw-off."

The shorthanded goal was scored by the Oilers captain, to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 2. McDavid showed off his world class speed and his offensive ability and essentially played the reverse Uno card on the Golden Knights opportunity to get back into the contest.

McDavid has been a regular in the dying moments of opposing power plays throughout the season, in part because he has the skill set to put other teams on their heels and give the Oilers a chance to take control as evident by his five shorthanded goals in the regular season and playoffs.

"I think usually the top players in the National Hockey League make for really good penalty killers because they know what it feels like to be on the power play and they anticipate where pucks are going, what people are trying to do," Woodcroft said. "Then you couple that with Connor's natural gifts, his speed, his closing ability, his hockey sense. That's what makes him a great penalty killer and he scored a big goal shorthanded for us the other night."

-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS

STREAM: 6:30 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West

Oilers Team Scope

The Oilers return home to Edmonton for the first time since Game 5 in Los Angeles with a 1-1 series split with the Golden Knights in tow, courtesy of Saturday's 5-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena.

The performance was an emphatic rebound by the Oilers, who thoroughly dominated the Golden Knights in the contest and had essentially wrapped up a victory after the first 20 minutes. Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for the Oilers just 2:21 into the contest, tapping home a rebound on the power play for his fifth goal of the series.

Edmonton's lethal man-advantage continued to punish the Golden Knights with a 91.8 mph slap shot by Evan Bouchard beating Laurent Brossoit less than five-minutes after Draisaitl's goal. The Oilers poured on the pressure in the opening period, with Connor McDavid using his world-class speed on the penalty kill to score a shorthanded goal on a partial break and give Edmonton a 3-0 lead.

The Blue & Orange capped off the dominant opening stanza with Draisaitl finishing off a Kailer Yamamoto feed for his sixth goal in four period against Vegas and his 13th goal of the playoffs. Edmonton's 4-0 lead was built off a 19-4 shot advantage as they overwhelmed the Knights for the entirety of the first period.

Connor McDavid added another power-play goal in the third period, catching Brossoit a little off his near post with the inch-perfect shot to wrap up Edmonton's scoring for the evening.

The victory was a major departure from Game 1 where Vegas was able to take advantage of some Oilers mistakes to put up five goals on Stuart Skinner and another into the empty net. Coming off a hard fought series against a much different Los Angeles Kings squad, Head Coach Jay Woodcroft agreed that it took some time to feel out and adapt to a Golden Knights squad that plays a much different style.

"Las Vegas is its own entity. They're a really good hockey team that presents its set of problems. We spent numerous days preparing, but until you get out there and you feel it, you do have to adjust," Woodcroft said. "That said, being in the same division and having played in the same division, you have an understanding of what that feels like. We didn't think we performed at the level we needed to perform in Game 1, we owned it, we got working at getting better, and our challenge here is to make sure that we're ready to elevate heading into game number three."

Golden Knights Team Scope

The Golden Knights head to Edmonton looking to find their Game 1 form after having their home ice advantage broken in the series' first two games.

"They were a lot better than us, they came ready to play and we didn't for whatever reason. It falls on the coach to prepare your team to play and I didn't do a good enough job," Vegas Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said about the Game 2 performance. "They were just much better than us, won their races, won their battles, converted on an early power play and just kept going from there and we didn't have the pushback necessary."

The Oilers got up early and were able to limit the Golden Knights possession for the majority of the game, with Ivan Barbashev scoring the lone goal with a baseball swing at a puck in mid air that fooled Stuart Skinner. Vegas were able to eventually pile 31 shots on the Oilers goaltender, but only a few opportunities truly troubled Skinner.

"They had the puck and they held onto it. They were strong on it and cutbacks, you name it, the ozone support below the goal line. All those things. Stuff that we didn't do well enough to tilt the game back in our favour," Cassidy said. "We weren't hard on the puck. I mean, guys we rely on offensively, they need to understand that. Go through any line [and they] didn't have the puck enough. If you're going to beat a good team that's attack oriented and highest scoring team in the league, you need to have the puck."

With the contest mostly out of hand, things got chippy for most of the final 40 minutes leading to the two sides combining for 124 penalty minutes in the game. The Knights pushed, but the Oilers pushed back and didn't shrink in what was a physical and gritty affair.

"Most disappointing part of the game for me as a head coach," Cassidy said. "You're going to have nights you're going to get out executed, certainly by this team. They were more competitive, but we got sort of out teammated, for lack of better term. That's disappointing."

By The Numbers

The Oilers are average 4.25 goals per game in the postseason, tied for the second most by a team since the 2005-06 season... Edmonton has scored a power-play goal in all eight games they have played in the playoffs... At 56.0 per cent, the Oilers power play is currently 13.1 per cent better than any other NHL team in history through their first eight playoff games... Edmonton has received 27 points from their defence in the playoffs, nine more than any other non-eliminated team... Edmonton's 15 first-period goals leads the playoffs, a category they also led the NHL in during the regular season...

Leon Draisaitl is just six-goals away from tying the NHL record for goals in a single postseason, with the record of 19 currently held by Jari Kurri and Reggie Leach... His 13 goals are the most through eight games in NHL postseason history... Draisaitl needs just four power-play goals to set a new NHL playoff record with 10... His next PPG will break Mario Lemieux's record of 38 PPGs in a combined regular season and playoffs... Connor McDavid has recorded at least a point in seven straight after being held scoreless in Game 1 vs. Los Angeles...

The Golden Knights have the best takeaway to giveaway ratio in the playoffs at 1.64... Vegas also leads the playoffs in blocked shots per game with 20.14 blocks... Vegas has allowed three power-play goals scored against them in a game three times this season, with two of those games being against Edmonton... Mark Stone has been a major contributor for the Knights since his return and is currently riding a six-game point streak... Ivan Barbashev's four goals in the 2023 playoffs are more than he scored in 25 games during his Stanley Cup winning run with St. Louis...

Injury Report

OILERS - Mattias Janmark (undisclosed) is day-to-day.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS - Logan Thompson (lower body) is day-to-day

-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com