The Edmonton Oilers are off to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after defeating the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1 for the fourth consecutive season. They fell behind 2-0 in the series before winning four-straight games to win the series in six. Next is a date with the Vegas Golden Knights for a trip to the Western Conference Final. These two division rivals split their four-game season series, with each team winning once at home and once on the road.
Vegas defeated Edmonton in Round 2 of the 2023 Playoffs in six games en route to their first Stanley Cup championship, and the Oilers haven’t forgotten. They have revenge on their mind, and this should be an entertaining series between two elite teams. Here are five keys to victory if the Oilers hope to beat the Golden Knights and get one step closer to achieving their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
Key #1: Goaltending
This seems like an easy answer, but the goaltending must be good if Edmonton hopes to knock off Vegas. Right now, it’s Calvin Pickard’s crease, until it’s not. The 33-year-old netminder replaced Stuart Skinner in the third period of Game 2 against the Kings, and he’s been in the net ever since. He’s a perfect 4-0 this postseason, recording a 2.93 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. While those numbers aren’t impressive to the box score hunters, he came in relief and gave the team a chance to win.
Related: Oilers Continue to Display Their Love for Calvin Pickard
Pickard lets in a few stinkers, but he also makes some big saves in crucial moments, as evident in Games 5 and 6 against the Kings. He made a sprawling right pad save in the late stages of Game 6, preserving the Oilers’ lead. This team trusts and loves playing for him. The bottom line is that he will need another big series against the Golden Knights and outplay Adin Hill at the other end.
Key #2: The Penalty Kill
The penalty kill must be much better against Vegas than it was against Los Angeles. While their penalty kill improved throughout the series, they still ranked last in that category through the first round at only 60 percent. The Golden Knights finished Round 1 with the seventh-ranked power play at 27.8 percent.
In the last round, the Kings were given the same or more power-play opportunities in every game, so Edmonton will inevitably be shorthanded, likely more than their opponent. So, that aspect of their game can’t be a detriment. A successful kill will go a long way in gaining confidence and building momentum throughout the series. Last season, Edmonton had an excellent penalty kill throughout the postseason, which propelled them to the Stanley Cup Final, and one win away from glory. They must find that again because a great penalty kill will lead to success.
Key #3: Keep Bouchard & Nurse Separated
Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard shouldn’t play together this series. When they are on the ice together, they’re getting caved. They were both on the ice for all three Kings goals in Game 4 in the first 30 minutes, and the first two in Game 6 within the first five minutes. That pair doesn’t work, and it needs to be avoided. They are chaotic in their zone and lack communication off the rush. They could’ve been on for another goal in the first period of Game 6, but Pickard stoned Warren Foegele on a breakaway. Nurse made a brutal decision, jumping in on the rush when Edmonton didn’t have possession. That led to the breakaway because he was so far out of position. Once the coaching staff finally broke up that duo, they settled down defensively, and Nurse even contributed offensively with a clutch goal in the second period.
Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
The Oilers miss Mattias Ekholm because he’s Bouchard’s safety net. They have to find another solution because Bouchard and Nurse aren’t it, and they will get exposed by an experienced and elite Vegas squad. Depending on the situation, they can experiment with different pairs, but pairing Nurse with Jake Walman and Bouchard with Brett Kulak could be the best action moving forward. John Klingberg can also get shifts with Walman, and Ty Emberson can get shifts with Kulak. Many moving pieces and different options can be utilized and explored on the back end without returning to that chaotic pair.
Key #4: Roll 4 Lines
Head coach Kris Knoblauch has developed trust in all his lines. During his media availability after Game 5, he said: “There’s no line that we’re hiding. We can have our fourth line play against the other team’s top line, and we feel very confident with that. We don’t have to worry about matchups, and we can just roll our lines.” It’s unsustainable to overplay your star players throughout a deep series, because they will fatigue and run out of gas, as we saw with the Kings. Therefore, if Knoblauch trusts his lineup in every situation, it will take the pressure off the big guns and keep them fresh. If the depth continues to play well, you reward them, leading us to the final key to victory.
Key #5: Depth Scoring
One of my keys in Round 1 was depth scoring, a major contributor against the Kings, especially in Games 5 and 6. Every forward had at least one point last round, and they will need more of the same if they hope to defeat a deep and skilled Vegas team. There’s no doubt that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will produce because they always do. But if they want to advance, everyone else should chip in and provide secondary scoring.
Mattias Janmark scored the game-winning goal in Game 5, and Trent Frederic scored the game-winning goal in Game 6. They also got major contributions from Evander Kane and Connor Brown, with Kane scoring twice and Brown scoring three goals. Their depth players are stepping up and playing with a ton of confidence. They will need to keep that going into Round 2 if they want to advance to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons.
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