(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

There’s no team in the NHL quite like the Edmonton Oilers. Their pair of superstars and their ability to play together or apart sets up for a cat-and-mouse game between the two head coaches that will ultimately tell the story of the series.

This year, it becomes even more of a focal point than the series between the two teams in 2023. That’s because of the way the Golden Knights rolled out their forward lines to finish Round One against Minnesota. After searching high and low for a solution to stopping the Wild’s top guys, Bruce Cassidy ended up playing his three best defensive players all on the same line, and it worked like magic.

Unlike 2023, when Vegas has a lineup in which Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and William Karlsson were each on separate lines, this year they enter with the option to play them all together, which will make the battle between the coaches even more important.

I’m not a big line match guy but there are exceptions to every rule and they have a couple of players who are exceptions. Those guys are MVP’s of the league. You have to be mindful of when they are coming over the boards to get the matchup you prefer. -Bruce Cassidy

In their series against the Kings, Kris Knobloch deployed Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together for the lion’s share of the time. LA countered with a bit of a rotation on who drew the defensive assignments, with Philip Danault, Anze Kopitar, and Quinton Byfield each spending more than 24 minutes of ice time against both McDavid and Draisaitl.

The Kings never unbalanced their lineup, and eventually it was their undoing. Cassidy has to be mindful of both loading up to limit the duo while not losing what the Golden Knights do best.

I don’t think you can mess with your chemistry. You’ve got to pick your spots to do that because your players get affected. I’ve just felt that I don’t like to lose the rhythm of our team. -Cassidy

In the first practice before the second round, Cassidy continued to have Eichel, Stone, and Karlsson skating together. With the benefit of last change for the first two home games, he may look to fight fire with fire, something he did not do for a single shift in 2023.

You have two guys who play a terrific two-man game so you have to be on full alert. But that means they are probably going to the bench together so it’s time to make hay against the rest of the lines if you feel you have the depth advantage. -Cassidy

The question for the Golden Knights, and Cassidy, is does his team still have the depth advantage they relied upon in 2023? If they still do while loading up the top line, the Oilers are in a world of trouble. But, if VGK can’t sustain down the lineup, they’ll be forced to take apart their mega trio and it will leave them vulnerable against McDavid and Draisaitl.

That’s kind of the fun part of the year as a coach. I enjoy that part of it. Kind of the back and forth and you’ve got to make your adjustments and guess what’s going to happen next. Try to think ahead without upsetting your guys. -Cassidy

Cassidy maneuvered it perfectly against John Hynes and the Minnesota Wild in the first round. The task is even taller this time around, but VGK have to feel confident they have the right guy pulling the strings.