Edmonton eyes 2-0 series lead on road; Pietrangelo game-time decision for Vegas
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LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights are hoping to prevent the Edmonton Oilers from taking an early stranglehold in the Western Conference Second Round.
They might have help in Game 2 of the best-of-7 series at T-Mobile Arena (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC) with the possibility of Alex Pietrangelo returning to the lineup.
The defenseman will be a game-time decision after missing a 4-2 loss in Game 1 because of an illness. Pietrangelo has three points (one goal, two assists) and is plus-2 in six games this postseason, averaging 22:31 in ice time per game.
Pavel Dorofeyev, who led the Golden Knights with 35 goals during the regular season, will miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. The forward took part in the morning skate Thursday and appears to be inching back toward readiness.
It will be trouble for the Golden Knights if they head to Edmonton down 2-0; teams that win the first two games of a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series when beginning on the road win 80 percent of the time (88-22).
Historically, teams that lose Game 1 of a best-of-7 series at home are 179-108-1 (.622) in their next game at home.
“You’ve got to amp up,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said at the morning skate Thursday. “They’ve shown the ability to do that. We got better and more engaged as the last series went on. If you’re going to have a run, your team gets better as you go along.”
Here is a breakdown of Game 2:
Oilers: Edmonton has shown incredible depth in this series. It scored three goals in the third period of Game 1, and each came from a different line. First-line forward Leon Draisaitl tied the game 2-2, second-line forward Zach Hyman scored the game-winner and third-line forward Connor Brown added the insurance goal. The Oilers have had 11 different forwards score in their first eight games this postseason and they have seven forwards who have scored as many or more than the two goals received from center Connor McDavid.
Golden Knights: Vegas has to do a better job of getting shots on goalie Calvin Pickard. In Game 1, it had one shot on goal in the second period, allowing 12. Chasing the game in the third period, the Golden Knights managed six shots on goal. Part of the issue is accuracy and opportunity; Vegas finished with 17 shots on goal, but it had 58 shot attempts. Edmonton blocked 18 shots and Vegas missed another 23. “Typically, we generate much more than that in terms of offense, shots, and second chances,” Cassidy said. “I don’t know if that’s a product of us having the lead. I don’t think so. We’re always trying to extend the lead. I’ll give them some credit. They controlled the second period, so that’s where we lost some of our offense.”
Number to know: 50, the career playoff assists total of Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard. He had two assists in Game 1 — his fourth multipoint game this postseason — and became the second-fastest defenseman in NHL history to record 50 assists in the playoffs. He reached the milestone in 67 postseason games; Bobby Orr did it in 59 games with the Boston Bruins. Bouchard leads all defenseman with nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven games this postseason.
What to look for: All eyes will be on how Vegas decides to counter Edmonton’s top line of McDavid, Draisaitl and Corey Perry, who scored the opening goal Tuesday. In Game 1, the Golden Knights went with a loaded top line of first-line center Jack Eichel, first-line forward Mark Stone and second-line center William Karlsson playing together and hard matching against Edmonton’s big guns. Stone had two goals, one on the power play, but that line spent too much time on the defensive and did not generate the way it did in a short run during the first round. The combinaions in practice Wednesday suggested Karlsson will drop back down to second-line center and Vegas will move away from the hard match and try to use its depth to gain an advantage.
“It’s kind of new for us. We don’t usually find ourselves in this spot. Big one Thursday, really really big. I expect Vegas to raise their level. We need to match that if not be more desperate. It would be huge to come away with two [wins]. Yeah, big one Thursday.” — McDavid
“I’ve said this before, even with the lead, we have to keep playing, keep pushing because then you give these guys like McDavid and Draisaitl a lot of time and space, and they can do a lot of damage. We have to learn from it but there’s still a lot of games left.” — Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl
Oilers projected lineup
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)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Brandon Saad –Tomas Hertl — Victor Olofsson
Brett Howden — William Karlsson — Reilly Smith
Tanner Pearson — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Zach Whitecloud
Nicolas Hague — Kaedan Korczak
Adin Hill
Akira Schmid
Scratched: Alexander Holtz, Ben Hutton, Tanner Pearson, Ilya Samsonov, Cole Schwindt
Injured: Pavel Dorofeyev (undisclosed), Alex Pietrangelo (illness)
Status report
The Oilers will dress the same lineup they used in a 4-2 win in Game 1 on Tuesday. … The Golden Knights held an optional morning skate. … If Pietrangelo plays, he likely will pair with Noah Hanifin.
NHL.com independent correspondent Paul Delos Santos contributed to this report
