That was an utter destruction of the Golden Knights. The Edmonton Oilers are showing signs of the vintage 80’s teams that formed the most fearsome dynasty in NHL history as their offense has run wild on the Vegas Golden Knights, scoring nine goals in two games.
This team may not be as well-rounded as the 80’s Oilers, but it most certainly is as offensively capable.
The Edmonton Oilers have proven their destructive capabilities to the Vegas Golden Knights and the rest of the NHL as they put 5 unanswered goals past the Knights in just 30 minutes of play, leveling the series 1-1 as it heads back to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4. And, even though Vegas won the first game, I think this series is on the balance of turning into a route if the Golden Knights don’t win Game 3.
As I said in the into, this Oilers team is posting offensive numbers extremely similar to the legendary 1980’s dynasty that not only won 5 Stanley Cups, but also dominated the league for the better part of 10-12 years (1980-1992).
In the eight games the Oilers have played against the LA Kings (6 games) and the Golden Knights (2 games), Edmonton is averaging 4.25 G/GM (1st in playoffs), have 59 assists (1st in playoffs), have scored 34 goals (1st in playoffs), have scored 14 power-play goals (1st in playoffs), have a 56.0% PP% (easily 1st in playoffs), and all the players have combined for 93 collective playoff points (again, easily 1st in the playoffs). That’s insane!
The next highest team in G/GM is the Boston Bruins, the team that won an NHL record 65 games in the regular season and was knocked out by the Panthers in Round 1, at 3.86, and the next highest team still playing in the playoffs is the Golden Knights (3.71), the best regular season team in the West and who recently played against the worst playoff team this year in the Winnipeg Jets.
So, to recap, the Oilers have outscored the NHL regular season wins and points record holders and the team that finished 1st in the West by 0.41 G/GM and 0.54 G/GM, respectively. That’s about an extra goal every other game, which is obviously fantastic for the playoffs.
Anyways, Leon Draisaitl is the one leading the way for Edmonton as he’s already scored 12 goals (6 of which have come in the last two games), 4 assists, and 17 points as he’s been the primary scorer and leader in both series the Oilers have played so far. Yes, McDavid (5 G, 10 A, 15 PTS), Evan Bouchard (3 G, 11 A, 14 PTS), and Zach Hyman (2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS) have gotten on the scoresheet as well, but it has been Draisaitl who’s willed the Oilers to victory in their most important games.
In Game 4 vs. LA in which the Oilers were in jeopardy of going down 3-1 in the series, Draisaitl scored 2 goals, assisted on another, and helped Edmonton overcome a 3-0 score deficit to win 5-4 in overtime. Then, in the series-deciding Games 5 and 6 vs. LA, Draisaitl posted two more goals as Edmonton won GM. 5 6-3 and GM. 6 5-4 to advance to the Second Round.
And, in this series, Draisaitl scored all four Edmonton goals in their 6-4 GM. 1 loss, and he scored two more yesterday as Edmonton dismantled the Golden Knight 5-1 and evened the series at 1. By the very nature of being a teammate of Connor McDavid, the obvious best player in the league, he’s never going to be the “main man” in Edmonton.
Still, Draisaitl is one of the Top-5 (if not Top-3) best players in his own right, and he’s showed that this year by scoring 128 regular season points (2nd in the NHL) and 17 postseason points so far.
Regardless, last night’s game showed that the Golden Knights will get destroyed by Edmonton if they take half the penalties they had, let alone the full six infractions that broke them. Seriously, the Oilers scored 3 of their 5 goals on the powerplay, they spent over 18 minutes on the powerplay, and they racked up 31 shots to the Golden Knights 17 in the opening two periods (where they scored all their goals).
It was a masterclass in a demolition job at the highest level, and one the Oilers are bound to repeat if the Golden Knights don’t play their very best hockey in Games 3 and 4. Sure, the Golden Knights were able to win Game 1, but they were reeling in the final period with the Oilers dominating much of the final 10 or so minutes.
To be honest, the Oilers were going to come back and win if Stuart Skinner didn’t get confused and cause a “Too Many Men” penalty with under 2 minutes left to play, giving Jack Eichel the opportunity to score on an open net goal to ice the game 6-4.
Yes, the Golden Knights could still win the series if they lose Game 3 and win Game 4, but it’s going to be almost impossible to beat the Oilers if they go down 3-1. This Oilers team is super dangerous and might be the most fearsome team in all of the league right now.
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