The Edmonton Oilers evened their second round series with the Vegas Golden Knights in commanding fashion Saturday night to the tune of a 5-1 win. Now, the series heads up north for Games Three and Four.
Monday’s puck drop is at 8:30 PM ET. Edmonton is the favorite at home at -170 while Vegas is +155 on the road.
Vegas’ Lack of Discipline Costly So Far
The single biggest thing the Golden Knights could do to bounce back would be to stay out of the penalty box. The Oilers have converted on 5-of-8 chances in the series so far and are operating at a league-best 56% in the playoffs. Vegas gave up six power plays in Game Two (Edmonton scored on three), and the team racked up 70 penalty minutes.
That lack of focus and discipline led to Vegas mustering just three shots through the first period. While they would recover to put 31 on net for the game, being behind early left the Golden Knights chasing the game and taking less-favorable shots.
“They were a lot better than us, they were ready to play,” Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We weren’t, for whatever reason, falls on the coach to prepare your team to play, so didn’t do a good enough job there. They were just much better than us.”
The Golden Knights’ starting goaltender will likely be Laurent Brossoit once again, though the leash may be a bit short. Brossoit was pulled after allowing the fifth goal in Game Two, and he has allowed four goals or more in four of seven playoff starts this year. Adin Hill may get the nod, and if he does, it would be the first playoff start of the 26-year-old’s career.
Edmonton’s Offense Looks Lights-Out
We already knew a deep Edmonton playoff run was contingent on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl elevating their game, but it’s what the supporting players have done around those two that has allowed the team to shine. Evander Kane’s 37 hits are fourth among forwards in the postseason. The breakout performance of Evan Bouchard has been key to success with the man advantage.
Stuart Skinner seems to have settled in more comfortably that previously shown in the playoffs, turning in his best effort of the postseason thus far in Game Two. The 24-year-old netminder stopped 30-of-31 shots, the first time in his playoff career he’s allowed fewer than two goals.
“I liked our start. I thought we did some things that we wanted to do, we asserted ourselves right off the bat and played the game at the pace that we wanted to play,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Part of that was how we managed pucks, and part of it was the way the game played itself out.”
Prediction and Pick
Game Two was the first meeting all season between Edmonton and Vegas where the teams combined to score fewer than seven goals. We feel comfortable saying the over is favorable, as the Oilers scored 3.88 goals per game (second in NHL) at home this year and Vegas scored 3.32 goals per game (ninth) on the road.
Draisaitl has scored 13 goals through eight playoff games and is on a five-game goal streak. Hammer the over 1.5 points prop as well.
As for the game, we think the Oilers will take the series lead with a 4-2 win on Monday. Take Edmonton on the puck line (+145) in this one.
