Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft showed no concern about a schedule change that moved Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals from Friday to Saturday. Confident in his team’s ability to perform on the road, Woodcroft remarked, “Whether we’re home, away, or in Hudson Bay, it doesn’t matter—we’re one of the top road teams in the NHL.”
His confidence was justified, as Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each scored twice, leading the Oilers to a commanding 5-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, tying the series at 1-1.
“We had the start we wanted and played at our pace,” Woodcroft said. “We managed the puck well and executed our game plan.”
This starkly contrasted to Game 1, where Vegas controlled the tempo, trading goals with Edmonton before winning 6-4. Now, the series shifts to Edmonton for Game 3 on Monday, where the Oilers had a strong regular-season record of 23-12-6.
“We played faster, more connected, and more aggressive,” said McDavid, who extended his point streak to seven games with five goals and 10 assists.
Draisaitl, who scored four goals in Game 1, now has at least one point in all eight of Edmonton’s playoff games, totaling 17 points (13 goals, 4 assists).
Evan Bouchard also scored for Edmonton, while rookie goalie Stuart Skinner made 30 saves in a strong defensive effort.
“Our defensive focus was key, and Stuart was excellent when needed,” Woodcroft said.
Ivan Barbashev broke Skinner’s shutout bid early in the third period, scoring the Golden Knights’ third goal of the series. Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit, who was 5-0 in his last five starts, was pulled after two periods, having stopped 27 of 32 shots. Adin Hill replaced him and made four saves in the third.
Edmonton struck first on a power play, with Draisaitl scoring his 12th playoff goal after several big saves from Brossoit. Bouchard followed up seven minutes later with a power-play blast, making it 2-0.
McDavid then delivered a highlight-reel, shorthanded breakaway goal to push the Oilers’ lead to 3-0. Draisaitl added his second goal of the night to make it 4-0, at which point Edmonton had more goals than Vegas had shots on net (3).
In the second period, McDavid scored his second goal eight seconds into a power play, extending Edmonton’s lead to 5-0.
“They were much better than us, plain and simple,” said Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. “They were ready to play, and we weren’t. That’s on me as a coach.”
LEON’S HISTORIC RUN
Draisaitl became just the second player in NHL history to score 12 or more goals through his first eight playoff games, joining Newsy Lalonde (15) from the 1919 Montreal Canadiens. He’s also the second player in playoff history to score eight or more goals in his first five road games, alongside Frederick Taylor (9) from the 1918 Vancouver Millionaires.
EDMONTON’S POWER PLAY DOMINANCE
The Oilers’ power play went 3 for 6 in Game 2, improving to 14 for 25 in the postseason. Edmonton leads all playoff teams with a 56% power-play conversion rate.
ROAD WARRIORS
This year’s road teams are now 35-23 overall in the playoffs, matching the total number of road wins from the 2022 postseason when teams finished 35-54 away from home.