There will be no shortage of player star power when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Las Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of their NHL Western Conference playoff series.
The second round gets underway Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. BetOnline shows the Oilers as -114 moneyline favorites while the Golden Knights are +103. The puckline numbers have Edmonton at -1.5/+215 and Vegas listed at +1.5/-255.
The series will feature the top two players selected in the 2015 NHL draft. McDavid was chosen No. 1 by the Oilers and Eichel was selected No. 2 by the Buffalo Sabres.
Edmonton Oilers (54-23-7-4, 4-2)
The Oilers closed the regular season with a nine-game winning streak. They’ve won 13 of their past 15 games, including the playoffs. They also took seven of a possible eight points (3-0-1) in the four games they played against Vegas during the regular season.
The series will not lack for star power.
The Oilers Connor McDavid is arguably the best player in the NHL. During the regular season, he had a League-leading 153 points (64 goals, 89 assists), 25 more than teammate Leon Draisaitl (52 goals, 76 assists).
McDavid & Draisaitl is much watch hockey pic.twitter.com/A5cPm2ZRR2
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 26, 2023
In the playoffs, those two players combined for 21 points. Draisaitl, who has 11 points, is tied for the NHL goal lead (seven) with Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche who were eliminated in the first round.
Vegas Golden Knights (55-23-5-4, 4-1)
The Golden Knights will see your McDavid and Draisaitl and raise you a Mark Stone and Jack Eichel.
Stone missed the last three months of the regular season after sustaining a back injury that required surgery, returning for Game 1 of the playoffs. He finished the first round with eight points (three goals, five assists), tied for the team lead with Chandler Stephenson.
IN THIS HOUSE WE STAN #61 MARK STONE 🗿 pic.twitter.com/h7pqEVwDPt
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 28, 2023
Plenty of attention will be paid to Eichel as well who made his NHL playoff debut in the first round against Winnipeg. That’s where he scored his postseason goal:
JACK EICHEL'S FIRST NHL PLAYOFF GOAL 🤯 pic.twitter.com/54rdNHIPwj
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 21, 2023
Eichel finished the regular season with 27 goals, 39 assists and 66 points.
Goaltending could be the difference
30-year old Laurent Brossoit is the unquestioned starter for the Golden Knights, after turning in an outstanding job in the first-round. He went 4-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage:
What a save from Laurent Brossoit pic.twitter.com/2VbKyKLmSK
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 28, 2023
The 30-year-old Brossoit started his NHL career with the Oilers, playing 28 games as a backup during the 2014-15 season and 2017-18 seasons. He signed as a free agent with Vegas. before the 2021-22 season.
24-year old rookie Stuart Skinner took the No. 1 job away from Jack Campbell and finished the regular season with a 29-14-5 record with a .914 save percentage and 2.75 GAA. His numbers haven’t been as good in the playoffs, going 3-2 with a .890 save percentage and a 3.43 GAA.
stuart skinner coughs up a puck and danault makes it 4-4. pic.twitter.com/TyAQzFe3yJ
— zach (@zjlaing) April 30, 2023
Special Teams
Edmonton had 16 power plays against the Kings and scored on nine, a conversion rate of 56.3 percent. It wasn’t a huge surprise, given that the Oilers had a 32.4 success rate in the regular season. Draisaitl (32) and McDavid (21) combined for 53 power-play goals in the regular season. The Golden Knights, as a team, had 42.
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