Edmonton Oilers v. Vegas Golden Knights Series Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

Edmonton Oilers v. Vegas Golden Knights Series Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

This probably will be the most fun of the second round series. Oh, fantastic stuff. Edmonton and Vegas. And by the way, before we get into it, I want to me mention that we have a second round second chance bracket challenge with SDPN. If you were not one of the 8,000 plus people that got into the first one, which is for the whole playoffs. Don’t worry, we got a second chance for you. Actually, even if you were one of those people, you can still sign up for this, too. There are prizes, and essentially, all you have to do is worry about the second round. you know so much more now than you did going into the first round. So sign up. It’s uh the link is in the description. Get in for the second chance second round playoff bracket with Spark and SDPN. Now uh let’s start with goalending in this. No question that Aiden Hill versus Calvin Pickard in any simulation or Steuart Skinner. Yeah, but but Calvin Pickard as of right now. Let’s not talk about Steuart Skinner because he’s not the starter. Well, I’m talking about him because I think we’ll see both. Okay, that’s just how Edmonton is. I think we know what where we give the edge here. The team with Elia Samson of No, I give it to Aiden. Now, Aiden Hill didn’t have the best series overall against the Minnesota Wild, but he turned it on when they needed it, which was in the final couple games. He had a lot better couple games then, but early on it was a little shaky. Yeah, you had trouble shutting down the star power of the Minnesota Wild. like the the topheavy was topheavy and Vegas really struggled with that and it kind of makes me look at this series and makes me look at it like I thought the Oilers would lose to the Kings which like I’m an idiot like what an idiot. I know I’m getting heavily fans shirt on but I was wrong. I was a fool. I took both teams from the Stanley Cup final last year and said they would lose in the first round, which sounds really stupid when you say it out loud. Um, but it it makes me look at Vegas, who is still such a good team, and I go, if you struggled that much with Minnesota’s top guys, how the hell do you expect to shut down Edmonton? No. Matias at home for this uh round. We do think that he’ll be back for the third round should the Oilers get that far. Jesse, Steve, I want to talk about the defense here because Matias Ekholm is a part of a huge part of what the Oilers defense could be, but they seem to be despite the fact that they are bleeding goals. Like there’s not been a game where they’ve let less than three goals in. Before you answer that, Steve, don’t forget that uh Akira Schmid got into the first round matchup for the Vaves Golden Knights. Inh Hill got pulled in one of those games. Hasn’t been fantastic. What happened to Sammy? Uh Kirish Schmid was backing up. Yeah, he he made he’s made nine of nine saves. There you go. All right. He’s got a perfect record so far. Wow. How do the Oilers? Yeah. Anyways, you can talk about the D there. So, let’s let’s talk about the defense because obviously you then so you got the the goalending give the edge to uh to Vegas defense. You give the edge to Vegas. Brain McNab, Shay Theodore, Nicholas Heg, Alex Petrangelo, Noah Hannah is on your third pair. Yeah. Zack Whitecloud. And then I’m going to compare and contrast that, hang on, to Darnell Nurse, Evan Buchard. That’s wild that they’re still doing it, but it worked in the second half of the series. It’s brutal in their own end, but yeah, they can score. Jake Walman and John Clingberg. Clingberg who played like 10 total regular season games. Completely wild. That’s a pair in 2025. Koulak and Emerson. And that’s a good solid third. I don’t have any issues with that. It’s clear where we give the edge. If the Oilers are going to stop Vegas on the defensive side of the puck with this core, what do they need to do? So, the Oilers use their speed. It’s not just run and gun. They use their speed to back you up and then set up and they’re actually good at posting in front of the net, which is what makes the bouch bomb so formidable. So LA, I mean LA, Whoops. Uh the Golden Knights, different chess piece. I’ve done this before. Um, the Golden Knights I think are content to protect the front of the net because they’re confident in it. The problem is I think that’s baked into the Oilers game plan. So, they’re going to use their speed, back you up, back you up, back you up. Remember that clip of uh Alex Petrangelo from an outdoor game and Nathan McKinnon’s coming in on him and he’s miked up and all you hear is him going, “Oh boy, that’s going to be all series, buddy.” So, but but I’m asking on the defensive side of the puck. Well, this this this is what How are you How are the Oilers going to back you off on the on when they’re in their own zone? Oh, well, that’ll be that’s going to be difficult, but the Oilers are I know I asked a different question than this answered. The Oilers are there. The they’re going to be able to like listen, they have their fire drills. Yeah. No team is able to uh completely flip the game on its head like them. Vegas could get seven shots off, but if it doesn’t end up in the back of the net, the next shot might end up in yours, right? And the Oilers will use their speed and their pugnacity to to accomplish that. Jesse, your thoughts? I actually think the Golden Knights defense struggled a lot early on uh against in that series against the Minnesota Wild. Shay Theodore had a like brutal game one and two. He’s got to still be recovering. He’s probably, but then by the end of it, he kind of picked it up. He finished the series with with two goals. Like that’s what you’re asking on your defense. But with the with the Edmond Edmonton Oilers defense, I don’t think their six defenseman should be trying to play defense. Like I feel like Evan Buchard’s going to beat you by doing what he does best, and that’s being one of the best offensive talents from the back end in the entire league. You know, if if the Edmonton Oilers can play their game, which is we’re going to outscore our problems, that starts from the back end. Well, it really starts with the forward group up top. It starts with McDavid and Dryside, but it’s supported by the back end and a talent like Evan Buchard, who is fantastic offensively. I think speed also plays a big factor for Vegas because listen, we’ve been very hard on Evan Buchard in this show. Nearly every clip that we’ve shown of Bousard being terrible defensively has started in the offensive and it’s him getting well I would say the other end. Yeah. He’s just you know I feel like staying here like it’s very odd. It’s very strange. Um, so I I think you know guys like Dorfy have you know the the Golden Knights are are gonna have to try to beat them along the wall and you know there there have been some silky whispers around Eel and how good of a two-way player he is. Well, he he he was nominated. Well, there you go. So, well, this happened like right before we recorded this. So, it’s two Panthers and Eel. Yeah. Hilarious. Oh, no. He’s Lady Bing. Sorry. He’s Lady Bing. Lady I was about to pull that up. I was like, “That’s not right.” Well, anyway, it’s the other weird. That’s a different award. He’s been in the conversation. Um, that’s gentlemanly conduct, right? This would be a hell of a series to prove it in, right? Cuz you’re needed in that regard and you have Mark Stone to help out. These two teams squared off in the second round in 2023. Mhm. Vegas won it 4-2, but it’s notable that Alex Petrangelo slashed Leon Dryidle, who was at that point tearing it up in the playoffs. Very violent series led led to Leon Dryside. Well, first off, Petrangelo got suspended a game for it. I looking back, I’m shocked that it was only one. Uh cuz he’s literally trying to break his arm off. Dryidle had 13 goals at the end of that series. He was leading the playoffs in goals until the last goal of the Stanley Cup finals when Vegas won and Jonathan Marsha show scored. That’s how great Leon Dryidle was. You have we’ve given the defensive edge to the Golden Knights. We’ve given the goalending edge to the Golden Knights. How do we not overwhelmingly give it to the Oilers when it comes to offense because of how balanced Vegas is? If you look at the people who scored in the first round for Vegas, it’s Hurdle with three. Howen with three and then a couple guys with two and then a million players with one. 12 different Golden Knights scored a goal in the first round against the Minnesota Wild. That’s crazy. I I think we might be misreading the Golden Knights and I think what we end up seeing is a series similar to Colorado Dallas where you know what defense be damned. Yeah. Let’s just both go because the the Vegas’s or Vegas’s Decor Petrangelo Theodore. Um, yeah, like all these bruising like guys who can bruise you. Uh, bruising guys who can bruise you. I do this for a living. Um, they could also move the puck really really well. So, if Vegas decides to make it that kind of a series, we’re going to get some really entertaining hockey. I don’t know if it’s the greatest strategy, but they can do it. Do you know who led the Vegas Golden Knights in goals in the regular season? Was it So it Eel, I’m not going to overthink this. Eel Hurdle. Pavl Dorf. Darn it. Wow. He was my first. He led the team in goals. Wow. Like and one of the breakout players of the year. He didn’t play I don’t know as of when we’re recording this if he’s going to be healthy to start game one against the Oilers. He wasn’t he wasn’t there. But I just I just point that out to be like that’s the depth scoring they get. It’s the ability to run four lines and how important that is in the playoffs. Now on the other side, the Edmonton Oilers against the Los Angeles Kings unlocked something and that’s fourline hockey. It’s they had an ability to run out their four lines as well. So I think I’m going to lean 100% Oilers in terms of who has the advantage in the forward group, but I think it’s a lot tighter than people think. The advantage to the Oilers goes in they also learned how to run four lines plus they have the top end talent. But against anybody else, I’m arguing for Vegas because they run the four lines. But Edmonton figured something out where they can equal that with the Vegas Golden Knights. So, I think Edge goes to Edge to Edmonton, but it’s a little closer than we think. It’s uh it’s just going to be a great series. This is going to be so much fun to sit back and enjoy. And by the way, I’ll be doing the watch alongs for it. Uh so, be tuning in to the STP channel because I chose that series. Some late nights for Adam Wild. That’s okay. I was late night all last year for the playoffs, too. So, I’m good with it. And I followed the Oilers for a couple of rounds last year. really enjoyed that. Why not? So, prediction time, kids. What do we think about this series? I think for me, bare minimum, this is game seven. Um, and I do think I’m going to give the edge to the Oilers because they have this goofy scoring ability that I’ve never seen another team have. And I just don’t know. Steve, you said something. I think it was after game four, game five in the LA Oilers series where you’re like, “So, what’s your plan for that?” And and as good as Vegas is, LA was good at that, too. Oh, yeah. Vegas is better, but what’s your plan? What’s the plan when when McDavid and Dryidle, oh, we got those guys. Okay. What are you going to Nooj and what about playoff Connor Brown and play off Zack Heyman and Vander? What are you going to do? So, I’m going to give it to the Edmonton Oilers. I think it’s going to be a crazy crazy scoring series. Go ahead, guys. Who did Edmonton lose to last year? The Florida Panthers. Who won the Stanley Cup? Who did the Edmonton Oilers lose to in 2023? The Vegas Golden Knights. Who won the Stanley Cup? Who did the Edmonton Oilers lose to in 2022? The Colorado Avalanche. Who won the Stanley Cup? I think this is a really interesting full circle moment for Edmonton because they were coming off that loss to Colorado where yeah, you made it to the Western Conference final, but you stunk or got swept. You lose in six to Vegas, but I remember what people were saying is Edmonton got the closest to beating Vegas. Yep. And then next year, Edmonton, after a horrible start, finds a way uh to not only make the playoffs, but get to the Stanley Cup final. And then they somehow force game seven. Two goals away. Two goals away. Wow. I think like Cody Rhodess, they finish the story. Oilers in seven. Jesse Blake. I know we’ve blown past 10 minutes, so I won’t I won’t have a long No, give it to us. Who cares? Who cares about it, but So, I’ll just say Vegas and six, but why? Oh, come on. Give me a Give me a Give me a wrap. No, no, we’re done. Give me a wrap sentence, Jesse. You got to win your prediction answer. Every time we underestimate underestimate Vegas, they win. Yeah. And Jesse nailed it in 2023, didn’t he? Six. We’ll see. All right.

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Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake preview the upcoming 2nd round matchup between the Edmonton Oilers vs the Vegas Golden Knights

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