The Edmonton Oilers recovered from a blown third-period lead to take Game 2, 5-4 in overtime over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
The Oilers entered the third period with a precarious one-goal lead. Then, Evander Kane got his third of the postseason to make the game 4-2. Edmonton looked poised to cruise to a 2-0 series lead.
But the Golden Knights had other ideas.
Victor Olofsson got his second power play goal of the game three minutes later to make the game 4-3. The Oilers held on for most of the period, but Alex Pietrangelo tied the game at the 11:58 mark of the third.
The game would remain tied until Leon Draisaitl played the part of hero, scoring at the 15:20 mark of the extra frame to lift the Oilers to a 2-0 series lead.
Here's a look at the game-winner:
The gritty win now has the Oilers in the driver’s seat against the Pacific Division winner who handily beat the Minnesota Wild in the first round. While the Oilers certainly deserve the 2-0 series lead they have at the moment, few expected the club to dominate much of the series.
From my perspective, the Golden Knights could have a 2-0 series lead of their own. However, the Golden Knights have seemingly run out of steam at crucial moments late in games. They’ve had to deal with an extremely deep Edmonton squad that just doesn’t give them any breaks throughout games.
That is why a second-round sweep would not be a ludicrous idea to ponder for the Edmonton Oilers. Â
Edmonton Oilers dodge a bullet with Calvin Pickard
Calvin Pickard has been money in the bank for the Edmonton Oilers this postseason. The team is now 6-0 since he took over from Stuart Skinner in Game 3 of the first-round series against the LA Kings.
But it was a play in the third period of Game 2 against Vegas that left Oilers fans reaching for their inhalers.
A collision involving Pickard the Golden Knights’ Tomas Hertl appeared to have injured Pickard. Hertl got caught up with Brett Kulak in the Oilers’ crease, heaving Hertl into Pickard. Hertl appeared to land on Pickard’s left leg, seemingly injuring him.
Here’s a look at the play:
The officials asked Pickard if he needed a minute to recover from the fall. Pickard shook his head and play continued. Moments later, the Golden Knights tied the game.
Now, as far as an injury is concerned, Pickard seemed fine the rest of the way. He didn’t show any signs of being hurt for the rest of the third and overtime.
But that doesn’t mean that something could be up.
We should get more information, if there’s anything at all, on Friday morning. The Oilers will face the Golden Knights at home on Saturday night in Game 3. That won’t give Pickard much time to recover.
Let’s hope nothing more comes of this play beyond a nasty-looking collision.
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