Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP
Edmonton Oilers teammates Connor McDavid, middle, Leon Draisaitl, left, and Zach Hyman celebrate a goal against the San Jose Sharks Jan. 13, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. Slowing McDavid and Draisaitl’s scoring prowess will be a major point of emphasis for the Vegas Golden Knights as they begin their second-round Stanley Cup Playoff series today, May 3, 2023.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Golden Knights' run to Stanley Cup
For the Vegas Golden Knights to have a chance to knock off the Oilers in their second-round series that begins tonight at T-Mobile Arena, they will have to slow down arguably two of the best hockey players in the world, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
“Both are creative,” Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “They’re both obviously good skaters, hard on their feet.”
The first round of the playoffs showed that it takes more than top-tier talent to win a series. Just ask the Colorado Avalanche — last season’s champions — and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, both of whom were upset by lower-seeded teams.
But it’s a different challenge with the Oilers. If McDavid and Draisaitl are at their best, it’s difficult to defeat Edmonton once, let alone four times.
McDavid and Draisaitl were the league’s top two leading scorers in the regular season. McDavid had a career-best 153-point campaign (64 goals, 89 assists), while Draisaitl (52 goals, 76 assists) was one of five 50-goal scorers in the NHL.
The Los Angeles Kings tried their best in the first round to hold off the Oilers, nearly pulling off a series upset. After winning 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, the Kings followed with a three-goal first period in Game 4.
But Edmonton rallied to win 5-4 in overtime in Game 4, then took Games 5 and 6 to knock off the Kings for the second consecutive season. Draisaitl (seven goals, four assists) and McDavid (three goals, seven assists) were once again at the forefront of Edmonton’s attack.
“We know that there’s more to their team than Connor, but he’s a huge part of their team, and so is Leon,” Vegas center Jack Eichel said. “So you need to know where they are on the ice and make it as hard on them as you can, knowing they’re still going to get their opportunities because they’re world-class players.”
The Oilers’ depth is at its best when McDavid and Draisaitl are on separate lines, but coach Jay Woodcroft hasn’t hesitated to put the two stars together. That was the case in Games 4 through 6 with Edmonton’s season on the line.
McDavid turned up the pressure with seven of his 10 points in the final three games (one goal, six assists). Draisaitl had five points in that stretch.
The Oilers utilize a nontraditional lineup with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, which allows for McDavid and Draisaitl to get more ice time. Most teams use 12 forwards and six defensemen.
“When they’re together, you better be ... sure you know they’re on the ice,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “And if your mindset is I’m going to check for the team on this shift, hopefully your next two lines are going to have to outplay the next two.”
Vegas enters the second round after beating the Winnipeg Jets in five games to open the postseason. Vegas got contributions from many players, whether it was stellar play in goal from Laurent Brossoit, goals from Brett Howden and consistent play from team leaders Mark Stone and Pietrangelo.
“I really do trust our depth. That really helped us against Winnipeg. I thought we matched up really well against the bottom half of their lineup, especially,” Pietrangelo said. “Even our top two lines, when they have to play in that defensive role, starting in the d-zone, they took care of business. I think on the back end, too, we can play against anybody and that allows us to have energy throughout the game.”
The Oilers have been able to hide their most glaring deficiencies because of McDavid and Draisaitl. Edmonton advanced despite rookie goalie Stuart Skinner posting an .896 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.40.
Where the Oilers make the biggest difference is their record-setting power play. The McDavid-Draisaitl-led man advantage scored on 32.4% of Edmnton’s power play chances this season, the best since the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens (31.9%).
Edmonton went 9 of 16 (56.3%) with the man advantage against the Kings to flip the series in its favor. Of the nine power play goals, seven were scored in Games 3 through 6. McDavid had six power-play points in the series, while Draisaitl had five.
The Golden Knights had the 19th-best penalty kill during the regular season but allowed at least one power-play goal in Games 1 through 4 against Winnipeg in the first round.
“You’re going to take penalties. It’s the nature of the game,” Pietrangelo said. “As a kill, they had a lot of goals in Winnipeg, but I think we did a lot of things right. A lot of the ways it was going in wasn’t necessarily how we wanted them to go in, whether it was a foot here and there or a bad bounce.”
The Golden Knights don’t have a McDavid or Draisaitl in their lineup, but their depth is what makes them believe they have a chance in the second-round series. Eleven of the Vegas' 13 forwards that played against Winnipeg had at least one point; eight of them scored a goal.
Stone appears to be fully healthy after missing the last three months of the regular season after back surgery. Vegas’ top defensive forward made an all-around impact in his return, posting a plus-5 at 5-on-5 and scoring three times. The line of Stone, Howden and Chandler Stephenson will be tasked with slowing McDavid and Draisaitl.
“If you’re going to beat the Oilers, you’ve got to find a way to slow them down at some point and limit those chances,” Cassidy said of McDavid and Draisaitl. “Score yourself because you’re never going to keep those guys off the score sheet. That’s the challenge in front of us.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
