After gaining a split of the two games in Las Vegas, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers return home Monday night for Game 3 of their second round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Faceoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET at Rogers Place where the Oilers are -170 moneyline favorites at BetOnline. The Golden Knights are listed at +153. The puckline prices: Edmonton is -1.5/+145 and Vegas is +1.5/-165. The total is 6.5 (o-133).
McDavid and company remain solid favorites (-195) to win the series and the Western Conference (+125).
Edmonton Oilers (55-24-7-4, 1-1)
McDavid had two goals and an assist and Draisaitl scored two goals as the Oilers jumped out to a 4-0 first-period lead and cruised to a 5-1 victory in Game 2. The victory gives Edmonton home ice advantage.
Draisaitl, who scored four goals in Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to become the first Edmonton player to score four goals in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Jari Kurri did it in 1987, became the fifth player in NHL history to score five consecutive team goals in a postseason when he gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead mark of the first period. His second goal of the game came on a rebound of a Kailer Yamamoto shot:
Leon Draisaitl buries Yamamoto's pass into the open cage for his second goal of the game, 4-0 Oilers!#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/SMjfYkl10s
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) May 6, 2023
The prettiest goal of the night came against the Knights. Watch McDavid with the shorthanded goal that made every highlight reel known to man:
an incredible shorthanded effort from connor mcdavid gives the oilers a 3-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/mP7PFrBHOF
— zach (@zjlaing) May 6, 2023
24-year old Stuart Skinner finished with 30 saves for the Oilers including a nifty stop on Jonathan Marchessault:
Stuart Skinner robs Marchessault on the Vegas power play with a beautiful glove stop#LetsGoOilers | #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/mqcdd0hvcE
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) May 7, 2023
Vegas Golden Knights (56-24-5-4, 1-1)
The Golden Knights who were outshot 15-4 in the first period and things went downhill from there. That set the tone for Game 2 which was for the most part, a wire-to-wire domination by the Oilers.
Ivan Barbashev scored for Vegas, which had its five-game winning streak snapped. Laurent Brossoit stopped 27 of 32 shots before being pulled after two periods. Adin Hill finished up and made four saves. Brossoit is still expected to start Game 3 but there’s been no official word from the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights haven’t had the need for a bounce-back game since Game 2 of their opening-round series against the Winnipeg Jets. Game 3 isn’t in the must win category but it sets up as a huge rebound game.
Vegas captain Mark Stone says despite the lopsided nature of the loss, it’s just one game:
Mark Stone: “I don’t think anyone in this locker room thought we were going to sweep the Edmonton Oilers.” pic.twitter.com/uMxUGnULdw
— Golden Edge (@GoldenEdgeRJ) May 7, 2023
Whether the Golden Knights can slow the Oilers, especially their offensive attack, is certainly worth questioning. Edmonton is averaging 4.25 goals per game so far in the playoffs, aided by a potent power play.
The Oilers added three more power-play goals to their total last game on six chances and are now 14-for-25 (56 percent) in the playoffs.
Penalty killing was an issue for the Golden Knights all season, and the Oilers have taken advantage.
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