LAS VEGAS — Upsets, we’ve had our share. But not out in the Pacific Division, where the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights have been beating a path to the same craps table since way back in October.
We know what the Oilers are: a dynamic offensive team with a surgical power play, whose defence and goaltending still have a few things to prove.
But what about Vegas, in the series that starts Wednesday here at 7:30 p.m. MT / 9:30 p.m. ET?
What do the Golden Knights do that could be problematic for the Oilers, a team that went 3-0-1 versus Vegas this season, and has won four straight at T-Mobile Arena?
Everybody says it: You can’t take penalties against Edmonton, a team that scored nine goals on 16 power-play attempts in Round 1. But the Golden Knights can actually walk the walk.
Vegas was the only NHL team to be shorthanded less than 200 times this season (195). Second place was St. Louis, at 217.
“You just might have to take three less penalties, two less penalties — and that might win you the series. That’s something that should concern Edmonton,” said Dallas Eakins, the former Anaheim Ducks – and Oilers – head coach who has schemed against both team in the Pacific Division.
Eakins sees a huge transition in opponents, moving from the zero-pressure Los Angeles Kings to a Golden Knights team that skates, forechecks, with a much bigger — and much better — defence corps.
“L.A., they are so mechanical. Like, there are hard rules on L.A.’s breakouts,” Eakins said. “Now you’ve got to wrap your head back around, ‘OK, we’re going against a little bit more free-flowing team here,’ which I don’t think will be a problem. I think Edmonton will quite welcome that.”
It’ll be much more fun to watch. And for these Oilers, more fun to play as well.
“You want to be able to move up and down the ice. You want to be able to break out. You want to be able to get the puck in deep,” said Oilers winger Zach Hyman. “L.A. plays a really unique style that’s different than probably anybody in the league. Vegas, they’re going to play more similar to the way we play: Up-ice pressure; fast; making plays on the rush. Their D will be up in the play — they have an elite D-corps that skates and moves.”
Here’s the good news for centre Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl: There is no Phillip Danault-Anze Kopitar tandem, two rock-solid defensive centremen who are both faceoff specialists.
But the trio of Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson are fleet of foot and dangerous offensively, giving Vegas a deeper, three- or four-line attack.
“Stephenson and Karlsson can really skate. They get their wingers moving,” said a Central Division scout who counts Vegas among his assigned teams. “It’s only Eichel’s second playoff series, but he’s playing better than when the playoffs began. You probably don’t want him defending McDavid or Draisaitl, though.”
Beyond those Vegas centremen, the Golden Knights defence corps is far bigger than that of the Kings, staffed by Alex Pietrangelo (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), Brayden McNabb (6-4, 215), Alec Martinez (6-1, 210), Nicolas Hague (6-6, 230), Zach Whitecloud (6-2, 207) and the offensively gifted Shea Theodore (6-2, 197).
That defence corps gets the checkmark ahead of Edmonton’s, on a Vegas club that racked up 11 more points in the season’s opening half than the Oilers. But Edmonton took back nine of those points in the second half, forcing the Golden Knights to win Game 82 to secure home-ice advantage in this series.
Their seasons were identical, and now that we are one round into the post-season, we’re not sure there’s any remaining advantage for the Oilers as the team that had the superior second half. It’s a wash now.
For that matter, so is the goaltending.
Stuart Skinner made the saves he had to make in Round 1, from which he emerged with an .890 saves percentage and a 3.43 goals-against average. Tepid numbers, at best.
As for former Oiler Laurent Brossoit, the Golden Knights rode him through their five-game series win over the Winnipeg Jets, and his first-ever NHL playoff experience produced numbers of .915 and 2.42. Those numbers are superior — but they came against the Jets, not the Oilers.
“Both guys give up rebounds at a pretty high rate. Kicks hard off pads,” said a former NHL coach. “So, who controls net front? That will be big.”
“Goaltending?” asked Eakins. “I almost think it’s a saw-off.”
So is this series.
Oilers in six.