Pacific foes set to renew rivalry; Dorofeyev remains out for Vegas
© Ethan Miller/Getty Images
LAS VEGAS — Hostilities will be renewed between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
It’s a rematch of the hotly contested series from two seasons ago; the teams met in this round in 2023 and the games were fast, skilled, physical and emotionally charged. The Golden Knights won the best-of-7 series in six games, using it as a springboard to their first Stanley Cup championship, secured against the Florida Panthers a month later.
Expect more of the same this time around with each team a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup. Vegas won the Pacific Division and Edmonton boasts arguably the two best forwards in the game in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers were one win — one goal — away from winning the Cup last season, losing to the Panthers in a seven-game Final.
“Definitely some heat from a couple of years ago, some hard feelings,” said Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill, who replaced the injured Laurent Brossoit in the Game 3 win two seasons ago and finished the series, winning each of his two starts. “It’ll be good, high intensity. Guessing it will be pretty physical out there, maybe a little chippy. There’s going to be a lot of good hockey players on the ice.”
Plus, Game 1 is going to be vital. Vegas enters having won the final three games of its first-round series against the Minnesota Wild to eliminate them in six. Edmonton has won four straight since falling into an 0-2 hole in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings.
Teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are 531-249 (68.1 percent). That number improves to 75.1 percent if the home team is victorious.
“Last series was a little different just with the transition from the regular season to the playoffs,” Oilers forward Evander Kane said. “No excuse, but it was a bit of a fact. We understand that getting down 2-0 isn’t a recipe for success, especially against a team like Vegas. It’s important for us to go down there and get one and be ready for Game 1.”
Here is a breakdown of Game 1:
Oilers: Edmonton is healthy and has settled into a forward rotation with which it is comfortable. The Oilers have been playing McDavid and Draisaitl together with Corey Perry on the top line. McDavid and Draisaitl each returned from late-season injuries and have hit their stride. McDavid had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) and Draisaitl had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) against the Kings. Edmonton deployed the same lines the past two games.
“Feels like an eternity with what has gone in in the last month of the season,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said.
Golden Knights: Top-line forward Pavel Dorofeyev remains out after he was injured during the third period of Game 5 against the Wild. He is listed as day to day. Don’t be surprised if Vegas switches its defense pairs; coach Bruce Cassidy is not shy about moving his tandems around to get the best matchup possible in-game. With several big, rangy defensemen at his disposal, there is the option for some interchangeability.
Oilers, Golden Knights battle in Second Round matchup tonight at 9:30PM ET on ESPN
Number to know: 52.6 percent. That’s the Golden Knights’ success rate on face-offs, which is second in the League this postseason; the Oilers are 12th at 48.0 percent. This is important because Vegas values possession more than most teams and feels it can exploit an advantage by putting Edmonton on the defensive.
What to look for: There is going to be a compelling chess match during Game 1. The Golden Knights have the last line change and will decide how they want to defend the Oilers’ top line. They have the option of using their best defensive forwards, who all play on the currently constructed top line — Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and William Karlsson, who traditionally is the second-line center. Will Edmonton try to dodge that matchup? Knoblauch said it’s likely the Oilers won’t, but game situations could dictate the matchups. “You have to see how the game goes and if things are going well with what the matchup is,” he said. “With our guys, to have that rhythm, especially our top guys, and as a coach you can’t be jerking them around.”
“We had a lot of guys in the first couple of games in the series that hadn’t played in a while or hadn’t played much. Getting those guys up to speed with every practice and every game, guys are going to get better and more comfortable, and that’s only going to be to our advantage.” — Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl
“There’s different players. I think their depth is better, especially against L.A., they contributed, their bottom-six [forwards]. But we like our depth. It should be a great series with lots of high-end talent on both teams. It should be a lot of fun.” — Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb
Leon Draisaitl — Connor McDavid — Corey Perry
Evander Kane — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Zach Hyman
Trent Frederic — Adam Henrique — Connor Brown
Vasily Podkolzin — Mattias Janmark — Viktor Arvidsson
Darnell Nurse — Evan Bouchard
Jake Walman — John Klingberg
Brett Kulak — Ty Emberson
Calvin Pickard
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Joshua Brown, Cam Dineen, Max Jones, Kasperi Kapanen, Olivier Rodrigue, Derek Ryan, Jeff Skinner
Injured: Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed), Troy Stecher (undisclosed)
William Karlsson — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Brandon Saad — Tomas Hertl — Keegan Kolesar
Ivan Barbashev — Nicolas Roy — Reilly Smith
Tanner Pearson — Brett Howden — Victor Olofsson
Noah Hanifin — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague — Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Akira Schmid
Scratched: Alexander Holtz, Ben Hutton, Kaedan Korczak, Tanner Pearson, Ilya Samsonov, Cole Schwindt
Injured: Pavel Dorofeyev (undisclosed)
Status report
Each team held an optional morning skate. … The Oilers are expected to use the same lines from their 6-4 win against the Kings in Game 6 of the first round. … Dorofeyev, a forward, will miss his second straight game. … Kolesar is expected to move up to the second line from the fourth, with Olofsson shifting to the fourth line.
