(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

For the 12th time in club history, Vegas clinched a playoff series and will advance to the next round. While the series against the Minnesota Wild looked worrisome after three games, the Golden Knights were led by their stars in the final two games of the best of seven game affair. Overall, the 1st place team in the Pacific Division prevailed with their coaching, experience and special teams.

(Credit: SPORT LOGiQ)

Next, Vegas will take on a familiar foe for a chance to advance to the Western Conference Final. The Golden Knights hosted the Oilers in 2023, and although the series lasted six games, it wasn’t a very close chain of games. Only one of the six contests ended in a one-goal score. In VGKs four wins wins over Edmonton in 2023, the average margin of victory was three goals. However, at the conclusion of the series the Golden Knights only outscored the Oilers by three goals. There’s a strong chance the second round will play out the same way.

Since 2018, Vegas is 4-1 in series against a Pacific Division rival. Only twice has a series gone the distance. Obviously, the never mentioned 2019 Sharks series that eliminated Vegas in overtime of Game 7 and the successful but wacky Vancouver series in the 2020 bubble. Both series were decided outside of T-Mobile Arena and gave VGK no home ice advantage. Thankfully, this upcoming series with Edmonton will begin (and potentially end) in Las Vegas.

VGK Playoff Series vs. Pacific Division

2018 – Golden Knights Defeated Kings in 4 Games
2018- Golden Knights Defeated Sharks in 6 Games
2019 – Sharks Defeated Golden Knights in 7 Games
2020 – Golden Knights Defeated Canuck in 7 Games
2023 – Golden Knights Defeated Oilers in 6 Games

Should this series feel different than the 2023 second round series?

Edmonton has a different head coach than they did two seasons ago, they’ve had a taste of the Stanley Cup finals and remain hungry. Also, the Golden Knights roster was shaped differently back then. Michael Amadio, Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson scored eight goals in the six-game series and all eight came in VGK victories. This time around it’ll be up to Pavel Dorofeyev, Tomas Hertl, and Victor Olofsson to add enough offense to overcome the late series surging Oilers.

With tonight’s 6-4 victory the @EdmontonOilers have improved to 22-7 (.759) in Games 4 thru 7 since the start of the 2022 Playoffs

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) May 2, 2025

Looking deeper, the 2023 outcome could be the same two years later. No matter how much confidence they project, the Oilers don’t have a goalie. There’s a high chance the Golden Knights will face two starters next round, while it would take a disaster for Vegas to roll out Akira Schmid or Ilya Samsonov over Adin Hill. Meanwhile, beyond Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Edmonton’s defense and depth are still being questioned, even after advancing in six games.

Most Golden Knights fans have kept up with the playoffs and have done a little advanced scouting on their own. The Kings had themselves in a position to finally overcome the Oilers, but the reigning Western Conference champions fought back and found a way to win the final four games. It’s unlikely that Vegas will be up 2-0 or that Edmonton will be victorious in four straight games. It’s more reasonable to think each club can win at home and on the road, like the Golden Knights saw from the Wild.

And we all enjoyed how that series concluded.