Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Vegas Golden Knights | Round 2, Game 3

Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Vegas Golden Knights | Round 2, Game 3

Hello Oilers fans. Austin here with today’s pregame report for game three between the Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights. Now there was some bad news this morning coming out of oil country. Calvin Pickard was not at morning skate and it was determined that Steuart Skinner is going to be getting the start tonight. Calvin Pickard of course is 6 and0. He is running a hot streak right now. An absolute heater in that crease for Edmonton. But because of the potential injury that he sustained when uh Thomas Hurdle fell on that left leg in game two, Calvin Pickard is not available tonight. So it is up to Steuart Skinner and the rest of the team to rally around that and find a way to put the pressure on Vegas. Find a way to get the win. I don’t care how they do it. Find a way try and go up three games to none on the Golden Knights and hope that Calvin Pickard is only dayto-day. That is such a huge loss for Edmonton and it’s a huge like um you know emotional bummer too. I really feel for Picker because you know the team really rallied around him. The fans have rallied around him. 6 and0 in the postseason and obviously listen I’m not saying that can’t win with Steuart Skinner, right? And I’m not trying to like downplay Stu. I’m not trying to downplay his importance to the team. Um but you know waking up and then seeing that news this morning obviously uh you know chances of winning at least in the eyes of this fan base do go down when Steuart Skinner is in the net. However in saying that that does not mean that the team cannot rally around Steuart Skinner. If they were able to rally around Calvin Pickard when Stu was pulled after game two against the Kings, I imagine this team should be able to rally around Stu. It is up to this team. You win as a team, you lose as a team. Rally around your boys. Rally around your goalender. Shelter him as much as you can, obviously. And for Steuart Skinner, I hope he’s been inspired by Calvin Pickard’s performance. He has been nothing but a good teammate to Calvin Pickard after every single win. Steuart Skinner, you can tell he’s genuinely happy for Calvin Pickard. Now, now it’s up to Stu. Now it’s his turn to go in there. He lost that crease. It’s up to him to go in there, get that crease back, help the Mton Oilers continue this run that they’ve been on. Help them win and help them go up three games to none. I’m gonna say it right now. Let’s just say Steuart Skinner legacy game. Let’s Let’s do it. I am full like I’m all aboard the positivity train right now. So, in today’s pregame report, if you end up enjoying, make sure to smash the like button. And of course, if you’re not yet subscribed to the channel and you want to be subscribed, um make sure you subscribe. Hit the little bell so that you’re notified whenever I upload or go live because yes, during game days I do live stream commentaries during the game. I will be live once again tonight for game three, which is at Rogers Place. We’re back home in Edmonton and that crowd is going to be absolutely insane. It is going to be deafening in that building. And I think honestly uh this is the perfect time for Skinner to uh get back into the crease. Right, you’re on home ice so the Oilers can take advantage of the line matchups that they want. They’re good at shot suppression at home. They’re good at scoring goals at home. And of course, uh the fans are going to rally and they’re going to be behind Stew as well. I know it. In today’s pregame report, we’ll be discussing the lineups, the stats, so you know, the the the advanced metrics and the normal metrics. I will also be discussing the keys to the game for both teams, players to watch, and my score prediction. Now, my score prediction is never correct because it’s not based on any form of science. It’s just for fun. So, make sure you all let me know who your players to watch are and who your or what your score prediction is. I love reading all the comments. I read every single one. Let’s jump into the projected lineups here for Edmonton. Absolutely no changes when it comes to this forward group, the defensive group, but the change is in net. Steuart Skinner will get the start. Olivier Rodriguez is going to be the backup tonight. So, hopefully Rodriguez does not have to come in and see any action because if he does, that means either two things. Number one, Stu gives up four goals on five shots and they have to pull him. Or two, Steuart Skinner gets hurt. This team cannot afford any type of injury to any more goalenders right now. And hopefully Calvin Pickard is back ASAP. When it comes to the forward group, you have Dry Cidle with McDavid and Cory Perry. And the Vegas Golden Knights have done a very good job at limiting McDavid and Dry Cidle’s offense. Uh when they’re on home in Vegas, they like to put Eel out against the McDavid line as their matchup. And Jack Eel’s line is incredibly efficient at shutdown hockey. Uh Eel and Stone are two of the best when it comes to their two-way play, their checking, their sticks, and um McDavid and Dry Cidle until overtime, until late in overtime, they really had nothing going. The Oilers even had a 5minute power play and McDavid and Dry Cidle were unable to really get anything going. Um just constant sticks in lanes, bobbling pucks. Hopefully in Edmonton the ice uh quality is just a little bit better than Vegas. Not saying that the ice is bad in Vegas, but uh there were a lot of players falling, a lot of pucks bouncing around and hopefully they’re able to do drive some offensive five on five tonight. Chris Knoblock, make sure you get McDavid and Didle away from that Jack Eel line. On the second line, you’ll have a Vander Kane with Nent Hopkins and Zack Heyman. This line has been on fire. Now, yesterday I made a post on Twitter orx.com and among all forwards that are remaining in the postseason right now with at least 50 minutes of time on ice, Evander Kane leads the entire playoffs in expected goals for percentage at five on five, 67.99%. And when it comes to the actual goals for goals against, he is 66. So, he is even when he’s on the ice. But because of how strong the expected goals are when this line is out there, K nyman, this line, I’m telling you right now, they are due to absolutely explode for offense. This is a line that is absolutely just they’re not putting the puck in the net at the rate that the expected um goals would be. Look for this line to be the X factor tonight. Look for this line to contribute. In game one, Zack Heyman, he scored the eventual game winner. Nice shot over the glove of Aiden Hill. And then in game uh two, Evander Kane scored to make it 4-2 in the third period. They are producing. They are starting to heat up. Keep an eye on them. This is an X factor line for the Oilers. Third line is Trent Frederick with Adam Henrik and Connor Brown. This is a line that quietly does their job and they do it very, very well. Frederick’s had looks, Henrik’s had looks. Connor Brown has four goals in the playoffs. uh a little bit quieter uh in game two for that line, but I expect them on home ice to contribute meaningfully when it comes to offense. And I also expect this line to potentially be Edmonton’s checking line against Jack Eel. I would not be surprised if they put them out there. Maybe you want a different center than Henrik if you just want to be able to keep up with the foot speed of a guy like Jack Eel, but I imagine this will be the checking line for Edmonton. And obviously hopefully they can produce a little bit of offense for the team as well. And on the fourth line, you’ll have Vasili Pud Coulson, Matias Yanmark, and Victor Arvdson. This line connected for two goals in game two. Pod Coulson finally got his first of the postseason. Arvdson had a couple of apples. Matias Yanmark has been terrific throughout the entire playoffs. Look for this line to hopefully get a little bit more than seven minutes of ice time like they’ve been averaging. I’d like to see them in that 10minute mark range uh because they are very effective when they are out there. Now, when it comes to the defense, you have Nurse with Buchard, and they continue to be a very strong defense pair, though, I still would prefer, you know, Wman with Bousard and Nurse with Clingberg. But hey, I’m not going to complain. The advanced metrics are solid for these two. Nurse and Bousard, that is. And um they need Nurse and Bousard to keep playing as good as they have. Darnell Nurse has scored a couple goals in his last three games. Evan Buchard, he hasn’t been scoring, but he is doing really good things. He’s still putting up a couple apples here and there. uh they they they need to continue to um you know do what they’re doing when it comes to the offense, but most importantly keep playing well defensively. Don’t give up too much when it comes to the defensive side of the puck, especially uh in front of Steuart Skinner. They’re going to have to do their best to get that puck out of the zone as quickly as possible tonight and don’t allow Vegas to put too much pressure on you. On the second pair, you have Wman with Clingberg. And this has been an absolute Xfactor pairing for Edmonton. Wman and Clingberg have been phenomenal. and John Clingberg specifically. I know I talk him up and I you know I I I love to talk about Clingberg, but I can’t just I I just can’t stop being excited about how happy I am for this player. How happy I am that he’s been able to step in meaningfully into this lineup. How happy I am that he feels confident. He feels good after the hip surgeries that he’s had and all the the the pain and suffering that you go through in rehab to get back to this point. John Clingberg’s career could have been over and it’s inspiring to see what he’s doing in the playoffs. The hardest games of the year and John Clingberg is elevated his game. Same with Jake Wman. Wman’s been phenomenal. He scored his first goal of the series in game two. Look for him to continue to contribute on offense and continue to play well defensively. And then on the third pair, you have Koulak with Emerson. Now Koulak gets a lot of minutes. Ty Emerson does not. After the first period in game two, Ty Emerson played about a minute 40 total. And I’m pretty sure all that time was on the penalty kill. And the Oilers gave up two goals on that penalty kill. So for Ty Emerson, if he wants to see more ice time, he’s got to be a little bit more meaningful with what he’s doing out there. I don’t think he has been poor except for the penalty kill. You cannot just allow that open lane for Victor Olivesson to one time it past your goalender from the dry cidle spot. Uh Koulak and Emerson. I hope they get more ice time. Emerson specifically, sorry. Uh, I need Emerson a little bit more ice time because eventually the longer the series goes, I don’t want to see what happened to, you know, what happened to the Kings in the first round where their top um, you know, defensive pairing guys were getting worn out, just playing too much. Also, get a lead. Playing with a lead would be very nice as well. Uh, and yeah, in goal you have Stu and then, uh, Evan Rodrigue or Olivier Rodrig. Evan Rodrig. Oh my god, that’s a Florida Panther. What am I doing? What is wrong with my brain? It’s Olivier Rodriguez in the backup. When it comes to the stats for this game, the Vegas Golden Knights, they are 4-4 in the playoffs. Their power play is redot. They rank third in the postseason, 32%. Their penalty kill ranks fourth, also redhot, 83.3%. The team scores three goals per game, which ranks 10th, so not super great. Uh, the offense for Vegas at five on five has been very minimal. They are actually a -9 goal differential at five on five. The Golden Knights have to get that five on five goal scoring up if they want any chance of coming back in this series. Goals against per game is 350 which ranks 11th. And Aiden Hill has looked a little bit shaky in that crease for Vegas. He does come up in big moments, but the Oilers just keep firing pucks on him because he is a little bit leaky right now. The expected goals for Vegas at five on five, they rank sixth. high danger chances they rank eighth and shots for percentage they rank fifth. So their five on-5 metrics are much better than what the actual goals and goals against are showing. Uh for Vegas that means that they’re going to eventually regress towards, you know, positively towards the mean. That means the five on five offense will likely start clicking, but maybe the power play starts to come down. If you’re Edmonton, you have to keep doing what you’re doing at five on five and you have to play better than you did in game two. Vegas did a good job of neutralizing Edmonton for the most part at five on five in game two. They have to find a way to break through tonight. For the Oilers, their power play, well, it is uh ice cold right now. They had a five-minute power play which went nowhere in overtime in game two. Uh they were 0 for three overall on the power play. They have not scored a power play goal in this series. In fact, I don’t think the Oilers have scored a power play goal on the road yet in the playoffs, but they do cook at home. So, if they do get at least one or two power plays, hopefully they can bang one in there. 27.8% for Edmonton on the power play, which ranks sixth. Their penalty kill is continuing to be the most abysmal penalty kill we’ve ever seen. The Jackal and Hide penalty kill is returning from the regular season, where sometimes it looks amazing and sometimes it looks absolutely dreadful. Last year in the playoffs, the Oilers gave up four power play goals total in the entire postseason. I don’t even know how many power play goals they’ve given up already in this postseason. 10, 11, 12, it doesn’t matter. The Belly kill sucks. They have to start killing penalties um ASAP, like right now. No excuses. Uh but they are amazing at offense. They are amazing at scoring goals. They score 4.5 goals per game, which ranks first in the playoffs. They give up 3.75 goals against, which is 13th in the postseason. And a lot of that has to do with that abysmal penalty kill. Their five on five play has been uh much better in terms of goals for goals against. Expected goals four ranks first 59%. High danger chances rank first at 60% and shots four percentage ranks second in the playoffs 56.69%. Let’s get to the keys to the game and players to watch and the score prediction. Keys to the game for the Edmonton Oilers. Number one, keep everything outside. Do not let Vegas into the high danger areas. Vegas had way too many good looks on Calvin Pickard in game two. And if you want a good chance to win and if you want Steuart Skinner to get engaged with this game and, you know, feel good about his game early, you can’t allow the first shot to be a breakaway or a twoon-one or whatever it is. Edmonton has to be defensively responsible tonight and keep everything outside. Let Stu see the puck, clear the blue paint. If you know, you know, Vegas is going to be crashing, right? They’re going to be crashing that blue paint. They’re going to be trying to make Stu very uncomfortable. This is a team, the Golden Knights that is, that have absolutely torn Stuart Skinner apart in the past back in 2023 for Edmonton. Keep things to the outside and hope that Sue can make the saves that he’s supposed to. Number two, special teams power play and penalty kill. They both got to get going here. If the Oilers get any power plays at all, they have to convert. If they take any penalties, please stay out of the box. Also, stop taking penalties within the first five minutes of the of the game. That you’re just asking for trouble. Adam Henrique, just shovel the puck down the ice. Don’t shoot it over the glass. Pretty basic stuff, right? Special teams, you have to find a way to kill a penalty and score a power play goal or this series could go downhill quickly. And number three, they need more from McDry. Now, the Oilers have the best depth in the playoffs. Every single forward that is in the lineup has scored at least one goal. Edmonton has scored 14 goals at five on five without McDavid or Dry Settle on the ice, which is more than last year in the entire postseason where they had 12 goals total from their depth players uh without McDavid and Dry Settle on the ice. For Edmonton, they need a little bit more from McDavid. They need a little bit more from Dry Cidle. I know that is really goofy to say because McDavid is 14 points in the playoffs and uh I think Dry Cidle also has 13 points or something. So, they still need a little bit more though. I would be a little bit more comfortable if they just, you know, they kind of pulled the rope for a game. I love Edmonton’s depth, but they need McDavid and Dry Cidle to um get a couple goals and really force Vegas and put them on the ropes. And for the Golden Knights, their three keys to the game, number one, obviously everything to the net. If you know Steuart Skinner’s in the crease, you know, he can be a little bit leaky. And by a little bit leaky, I mean like really really leaky. everything on net for the Golden Knights and see if anything can just break through, especially at five on five. Number two, need five on five offense. The Golden Knights have a negative9 goal differential at five on five in these playoffs. They are 13 goals for 22 goals against, but their expected goals is not reflecting that at all. We know Vegas is going to eventually um start producing at five on five. So for for Vegas, maybe that happens tonight. That is a key to the game. And number three, big PP, you know, big uh wink. Ah, yeah. You know, yeah, big power play. Their power play continues to be absolutely massive. And if they continue to get power plays from the Oilers from just taking dumb penalties, especially early in games, uh they are going to have some success tonight. And last but not least, the players to watch. I’m going with both goalenders. Number one, Steuart Skinner. This is his first start in the postseason. His first appearance in the playoffs since game two against the Los Angeles Kings where I had an absolute crash out in the postgame fan reaction. Let’s hope Steuart Skinner has calmed down so that I can remain calm tonight during the live stream. And let’s hope that Stu has a great game. And for Vegas, Aiden Hill is going to be the player to watch as well. I’m going with both goalenders. Aiden Hill has been leaky in this series. Let’s see what happens between these two goalenders tonight. And my score prediction, drum roll. Let’s do it. I’m gonna go 54 Oilers with the smiley face, of course. Now, this is going to be hilarious because both these goenders are notorious for giving up a ton of goals in these playoffs. Watch this end up being like a 2-1 or one- nothing game or something just absolutely stupid. But I’m going 54 Edmonton. I have a lot of confidence in this group on home ice. I really do think Edmonton finds a way to go up three games to none and really put the pressure on Vegas. Uh this is a massive opportunity for Edmonton. They are not in this position very often. The last time they had a two nothing series lead was in 2017 against Anaheim. They took both games on the road. But then Anaheim came back and won both games in Edmonton. The Oilers have to defend the house. They have to take advantage of home ice which they have completely stolen from the Golden Knights. Win at home. Win at home. Win tonight. Go up 3 nothing and put uh Vegas on the ropes. That is it for me. That is the pregame report. I hope you enjoyed. If you’re uh listening on any podcast platform, uh thank you all so much. It means the world. Um if you watched or listened to this on YouTube, once again, thank you for your support. Uh the growth of the channel continues to just boggle the mind. So, uh I I appreciate all the love and support lately. Before the game tonight, make sure you tell someone that you love them. And as always, fight like a kid. Fight like Ben. Let’s go Oilers. Let’s go Stew. Legacy game for Skinner. Let’s go boys. Let’s get this thing done.

The Edmonton Oilers will be without goaltender Calvin Pickard tonight as it was announced he is day to day. Stuart Skinner gets his first start since game 2 vs the LA Kings. Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl look to produce more offense and take advantage of home ice as the Oilers look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead! Austin Hockey has all the stats, lines, storylines, players to watch and more in today’s pre-game report for game 3! #oilers #edmontonoilers #nhl

ICYMI: Game 2 FAN REACTION – https://youtu.be/bATWyzbE9fE

JOIN the Austin Hockey Bracket Challenge League today! https://bracketchallenge.nhl.com/en/leagues/27376

I have a NEW Channel for Gaming and Extra Stuff: https://www.youtube.com/@UCy8e0uVP9kIlny7eM7O8Hqg

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4K4mprYG72He49k56Eging/join

I am now on Spotify, Apple and Amazon Podcasts!

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9bd98a01-76d5-46f5-a7a3-e3977ce8fea4/the-austin-hockey-podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-austin-hockey-podcast/id1776259161?itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box&ls=1&mttnsubad=1776259161

I have a Discord Server! You Can Join Here: https://discord.gg/MarTVUpN

Game Over is BACK! Subscribe to the Game Over Edmonton YouTube Channel Here: https://www.youtube.com/@UC9UeHym7B1UTiLdfNXe2MYQ

More Game Over: https://thegameovernetwork.com/

Ben Stelter Foundation Bracelets/Wristbands: https://benstelterfoundation.myshopify.com/
If you don’t want to miss any updates, announcements or video uploads make sure to Subscribe to my channel and follow my socials!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AHockey1993
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/austinhockey.bsky.social
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@AHockey1993
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahockey1993/
TwitchTV: https://www.twitch.tv/austinhockeytv