Edmonton leads the series 3-1 & can advance to the Western Conference Final with a victory in Game 5 of their Second Round series against the Golden Knights on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena
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The Edmonton Oilers can advance to the Western Conference Final with a victory in Game 5 of their Second Round series against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 7:30 p.m. MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.
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The Oilers shut out Vegas 3-0 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead
LAS VEGAS, NV – Round 3 is in our sights, but there’s still one more win needed.
It won’t come easily.
“I don’t think we’re looking at how many games are left in the series, and it’s a one-game mentality,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said on Tuesday.
“Whether or not we lost Game 3 the way we did, it was ‘forget about it’ and move on to the next one. There are a lot of benefits of winning that next game – you don’t give that opportunity for Vegas to put together a string of wins, and then also, the ability for us to have some downtime. Guys can rest and not add to the bumps and bruises through the playoffs. It’s a physical game.”
“But I think right now, it’s about not allowing Vegas that opportunity to win a few games.”
The Edmonton Oilers will return to T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night for Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights to try and claim one more victory on the road in this series and advance to the Western Conference Final for the third time in the last four postseasons.
Kris addresses the media on Tuesday morning from Rogers Place
After dominating every facet of Monday’s 3-0 shutout victory in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead, the Oilers will be looking for the same type of complete effort tonight to try and eliminate the Golden Knights, who’ll be playing with desperation trying to keep their season alive on home ice where they hold the most playoff wins (32) since their inaugural season in 2017-18 and cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final that same year.
“It’s hard to win,” Vegas Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But if you start with one at home, a building we have typically played well in, it’s small picture right now. Take care of business on Wednesday. Be ready to play. See if you can’t get a lead by playing the right way and having more urgency than them, more desperation.
“If we don’t win, we’re done. There needs to be a level of [desperation] without taking us out of our game, and we’ll go from there. We need to win one game three times in a row.”
Despite playing Game 5 at home, the Golden Knights will have a tough time beating the Oilers if either version of the teams that played Game 4 on Monday show up, after Edmonton outmatched Vegas in a performance that was headlined by Stuart Skinner’s second career shutout with 23 saves and a terrific showing from their third line that was led by Adam Henrique’s two goals in the victory.
Henrique scores twice & Skinner stops 23 as the Oilers win Game 4
Henrique scored his first only 1:27 into the first period off the hard work put in by Connor Brown off an offensive-zone faceoff to take the puck off a Vegas defenceman below the goal line and get in front for his centre to finish top shelf for an early 1-0 lead.
Henrique notched his second goal of the night with a sweet through-the-legs finish from inside the blue paint over half a period later, beating Adin Hill under the arm before Evander Kane was guided into the Vegas netminder with a cross-check from Brayden McNabb that set off the fireworks in Game 4.
That only played to Edmonton’s strengths, as the frustration was starting to show in Hill and the Golden Knights from their in-your-face approach to Game 4 on Monday, while the Oilers looked locked in every facet during an opening frame in which they took a 2-0 lead and held a 15-5 advantage in shots.
Evander Kane had a team-leading six hits playing his imposing style on a line with Henrique and Brown, scoring his fourth of the playoffs to extend the Oilers lead to 3-0 lead in the second period on an odd-man rush that was created from Connor McDavid to make it eight straight playoff games with an assist for the captain. The Oilers also improved to 15-2 in the postseason when Kane finds the scoresheet.
Stuart Skinner made an important save against Ivan Barbashev on a breakaway in the first period that could’ve swung the momentum back in Vegas’ favour, along with helping the Oilers kill off three penalties by keeping the Golden Knights’ power play to only two shots with Edmonton protecting a 2-0 lead.
Skinner was terrific to record his second-career playoff shutout in his second straight start since the injury to Calvin Pickard, and looks set to deliver in another potential series-clinching game for the Oilers where he’s 4-1 with a 2.41 goals-against average & .912 save percentage in his career.
“All I can really say is thanks to the guys playing in front of me. They were amazing tonight,” Skinner said after Monday’s win. “They made my job a lot easier. They were battling and blocked a lot of shots, and the way that we played defensively was superb. So a lot of credit to the guys.”
Skinner secured a Capital Power Shutout with 23 saves in Game 4
Coach Knoblauch deserves credit for his decisions on Monday night after making a few impactful changes, injecting the fast and physical Kasperi Kapanen into the lineup for Viktor Arvidsson while defenceman Troy Stecher drew in for the first time these playoffs in place of Ty Emberson.
Kapanen got involved physically as part of Edmonton’s early pressure on Vegas and had a few good looks at scoring in his 2025 playoff debut. Stecher’s presence in a pairing with Darnell Nurse gives the Oilers three well-rounded and formidable pairings that are likely to get even stronger if they’re able to make it past Vegas in Game 5 on Wednesday.
“I thought the pairs were really good and they were rolling them over,” Knoblauch said. “It’s easier to play when you have your regular partner, and I think Nurse and Stech have played a lot of time together. With Stech coming back into the lineup, it was an easier transition for him to come back with his regular partner – a guy with whom he’s played a lot and feels comfortable. So that I think that helped.”
Coach Knoblauch said on Tuesday that defenceman Mattias Ekholm is currently doing light skates and is hopeful to return sometime during the Western Conference Final, which would be a significant boost to Edmonton’s Stanley Cup race if they ca advance on Monday. Calvin Pickard remains day-to-day.
