The Edmonton Oilers bounced the LA Kings yet again in the first round of the playoffs. This time, the Oilers pulled out a heart-stopping 6-4 win Thursday night to seal their ticket to the second round.
The focus will now be on facing the Vegas Golden Knights, who also punched their ticket to the second round by sending the Minnesota Wild packing.
All told, Connor McDavid registered 11 points in the series while Leon Draisaitl got 10. They did their part. Draisaitl, especially, got the overtime winner on Sunday night essentially salvaging the Oilers’ season.
But in Game 6, Draisaitl and McDavid were not the most significant factors on the night. They were consistently generating scoring chances, but the Kings did a good job of shutting them down.
So, the Kings picked their poison. Shut down McDavid and Draisaitl and force the Oilers’ depth to step up.
That’s exactly what happened.
Darnell Nurse came to life with two points. Trent Frederic got his first as an Oiler. Adam Henrique also got on the board.
These underperforming players picked up the slack when the team needed it the most. They called the Kings’ bluff and beat them. Now, the Oilers have a newfound confidence in their depth players that cannot be easily broken.
Yes, Vegas is a tough team. But they’re not entering the second round with the same sort of emotion that the Oilers are riding. It may not seem like it on the surface, but emotion and momentum are very powerful forces in sports.
I’m not saying that Vegas is somehow backing into the second round. But they actually struggled to send Minnesota packing. In the Oilers’ case, they technically upset the Kings. That’s why the momentum is now on their end.
Edmonton Oilers face similarly tough challenge in Vegas Golden Knights
The Edmonton Oilers are now set to face the Pacific Division-winning Vegas Golden Knights. The Knights had a relatively clear path to the division title despite facing some injury issues this season.
But the Knights fought through them and secured the number-two seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Winnipeg Jets.
While the Golden Knights ploughed through most of their opposition during the regular season, they faced a tough test from the Oilers. During the regular-season series, the two teams split their four games.
The Golden Knights won the first two meetings 4-2 and 1-0, while the Oilers took the latter two matchups 6-3 and 3-2. It’s worth pointing out that the Golden Knights’ 1-0 win on December 3 was a close, hard-fought game that could have gone either way.
In fact, the only game that wasn’t all that close was the Oilers' 6-3 win on December 14. That situation bodes well for the Oilers, who will be looking to advance to the Western Conference Final for the second year in a row.
Of course, it won’t be easy for the Oilers. But it’s there’s one thing the team has proven this postseason is that they are not going away quietly.
It remains to be seen how much of a battle the Golden Knights can put up against one of the most talented teams in the league. Their resistance will boil down to being able to shut down McDavid and Draisaitl and hope that the Oilers’ second scoring will not become a factor in the series.
Good luck with that.
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