"That was an elite team": Marchessault says Golden Knights' hardest test was the Oilers
According to Jonathan Marchessault, the Edmonton Oilers were the toughest team the Vegas Golden Knights faced in the playoffs.
Exactly one week after winning the Stanley Cup, Marchessault appeared on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast to discuss the Golden Knights’ run.
While he was very complimentary of his own team, he also took some time to give another team kudos. That team was the Edmonton Oilers, who, despite bowing out to the Golden Knights in round two, was the most challenging matchup Vegas had in the eyes of Marchessault.
“It [Oilers series] has to be the hardest matchup we had,” Marchessault said. “You had a two-goal lead and you were never safe. That was just an elite team.”
The main concern teams facing the Oilers this season had was staying out of the penalty box. With a lineup featuring Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they had one of the most dangerous power play units the league has ever seen. Marchessault himself admitted he couldn’t believe what he saw when they had the man advantage.
“The thing is, we had to be disciplined. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Marchessault said. “We had to be disciplined and not get involved in things. Even four-on-four was not good for our team. That was a big factor.”
Marchessault said that despite it being their game plan from the get-go, the Golden Knights struggled to stay disciplined through the first four games. Believing they had a better team at five-on-five, they were able to stay out of the box for the majority of the final two games and won the series as a result.
While this doesn’t change anything for the Oilers, it shows just how strong of a team they had this season. Had a few more bounces gone their way in round two, it very well could have been them hoisting the Cup this year. The good news is that they will have a similar roster heading into next season, and could very well find themselves on top at this time next year.
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