May 3, 2023 by Raghu Sharma

Well, here we are. After a tough battle in in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, we finally get to witness a playoff series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Since entering the NHL 2017-18, the Golden Knights have made the playoffs in each season, aside from 2021-233, where injuries caught up with them. The Golden Knights have one of the most aggressive managements in the entire league under the pairing of George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon, who will go after anyone and everyone they think can make their team better.

On the other hand, the Oilers have made the post-season for a fourth consecutive season, and many of the core players can now leverage off their own experiences making it all the way to the 2022 Western Conference Final. The group has matured and does not get down on themselves. This was shown in spades against the Kings after falling behind 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, and trailed 3-0 after the first 20 minutes of Game 4. This team is showing fans, including myself, that they are built different and the PTSD of being an Oilers fan might be behind us as this new crop of players is intent on writing their own story through sheer will and determination.

This brings us on the collision course of the top two teams in the West facing off in the second round, only being separated by two points in the regular season. Those two extra points give Vegas home ice advantage to start a series. The Oilers, however, have been in this position before as just a year ago they found themselves on the road to start the second round in a battle against their provincial rivals the Calgary Flames. The Oilers ousted the Flames in five games after dropping game 1 and have often shown us that they are one of the strongest teams on the road this season.

The fact we have not yet seen a series between these two teams in the post season adds excitement on top of the fact that we get to see it headlined by the top two picks from the 2015 draft class. Connor McDavid, drafted first-overall, has defied even the lofty expectations most had for him continually improving year over year. Jack Eichel, on the other hand, has been through a tougher road, drafted by the Buffalo Sabers and not once seeing a playoff run in his time there.

He was traded last year to the Knights in a deal that has benefited both sides, but this year has been his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs and you know he is just as eager to make his mark on the series. In the season series, the Oilers went 3-0-1, with a whopping 32 goals scored between the clubs. However, a lot has changed with both these teams over the course of the season.

The Golden Knights lost Mark Stone for a better part of the season and the have had the goalie carousel going. Even with the acquisition of Jonathan Quick at the deadline and with Logan Thompson injured, they have turned to Laurent Brossoit in this playoff run. Similarly, the Oilers have been a vastly different team since the return of Evander Kane from a scary injury, Vincent Desharnais getting recalled, and the acquisitions of Matthias Ekholm and Nick Bjugstad that have shored up both the offense and defensive end of the game.

Now, to the challenge. Well, the Golden Knights are not the Kings. They don’t play as structured a neutral zone defensive game, as they rely more heavily on their transition offense off a strong forecheck and their depth up front. The biggest benefit for the Oilers playing such a tough grind-it-out and wait for your moment series like they did against the Kings, was that it taught them patience and avoiding unnecessary risks.

The series also allowed first timers for the Oilers to get their feet wet along the lines of goalie Stuart Skinner and the aforementioned Desharnais. As mentioned above, this Oilers team has proven an ability to play all styles, low scoring or high event hockey. Well to counteract the Golden Knights, the Oilers will be looking to change up tactics. The Golden Knights play a strong defensive zone game, the forwards will come down to cover the slot with a much more collapsing approach allowing shots from the point. This style has been employed by Bruce Cassidy going back to all those years with the Boston Bruins.

This is why I believe, we are about to witness Evan Bouchard breakout even further after tallying 10 points in six games against the Kings. If the Golden Knights continue to play this style, Bouchard will have many opportunities to take advantage and it will be up to the Oilers forwards to get in those dirty areas to take Brossoit’s eyes away and get after those secondary chances.

Secondly, while the Oilers will likely continue to play the highly successful 11-and-seven configuration, which in a lot of ways, makes the last change advantage less so on the road, I think that Jay Woodcroft will go back to splitting up McDavid and Draisaitl. The ability to load them up is something that worked well in the latter few games of the KIngs series because of the likes of Bjugstad stepping up as a solid second line centre.

However, by splitting up McDavid and Draisaitl, your Center depth is stronger and with the ability to enter the zone more easily with the style of the Knights, the Oilers can come in waves. I expect speed to be a major factor in this series and the Oilers have an extremely fast group of players, hungry to prove including the likes of Ryan McLeod. Thirdly, while Brossoit was on the winning end of a 5 game series against the Winnipeg Jets, the series became a battle of attrition as it went on with major pieces of the Jets going down game after game.

The Oilers had the fire power of the top scoring team in the regular season and they continued that trend in round 1 scoring 25 goals in 6 games. Let’s not forget that Jonas Korpisalo was stellar in the first three games of the series, but the Oilers offence broke through as the series went on and making him look quite pedestrian in the next three. I fully expect the Oilers offense with their ability to get through the Knights d core and eventually Brossoit as well.

Keys to Oilers Success:

• Pressure offense leading to cycles in the offensive zone and lines coming in wave after wave
• Remaining strong on special teams, the power-play is otherworldly, but the penalty kill will need to be stronger and five-on-five play
• Skinner shaking off the first round jitters and playing more like the goalie we saw in the regular season
• Continuing the 11-and-seven formation
• The Oilers fought through adversity in round one to slay the Kings. Now, it’s time for them to take out the Golden Knights.