4 under-the-radar reasons why Edmonton Oilers are looking good heading to Vegas
The Edmonton Oilers are preparing for a playoff rematch with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Heading into the series, it would appear that Vegas has the upper hand. The Golden Knights finished ahead of the Oilers in the standings, winning the Pacific Division, and are looking good after a first-round series win over the Minnesota Wild.
Edmonton is also feeling confident after shocking the LA Kings with four straight wins to erase a 2-0 series deficit. However, questions are swirling around the Oilers’ goaltending situation with backup Calvin Pickard expected to get the nod to start the series. There are concerns over the defence and whether or not they can limit a pesky Golden Knights squad from getting on the board.
Those are all valid questions that could play a big role in this upcoming series, but the Oilers aren’t completely out of it. You can never count out a team that has both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the lineup.
NHL experts aren’t quite convinced the Oilers have what it takes to defeat the Golden Knights. However, the team should be feeling good about itself when it comes to these four under-the-radar reasons.
1. Oilers are the faster team
The Oilers may be the oldest team in the NHL, but that doesn’t mean they are the slowest team.
When you have a team led by the fastest hockey player on the planet in McDavid, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Oilers still play a fast game. Yet, that was a concern heading into the playoffs after the team let go of speedsters like Dylan Holloway and Ryan McLeod in the offseason in favour of aging veterans like Adam Henrique and Corey Perry.
According to NHL Edge, the official player and puck tracking technology of the league, the Oilers have been the quicker team through the first round of the playoffs.
edge.NHL.com
Edmonton has Vegas beat in top skating speed, speed bursts over 20 miles/hour, as well as skating distance. The Oilers are also given the advantage with goals scored, shots on goal, and shooting percentage.
2. Oilers’ depth players are heating up
Gone are the days when McDavid and Draisaitl had to do all the heavy lifting in the playoffs.
The first round showed the NHL that the Oilers can finally start to rely on their depth players to carry some of the weight. 97 and 29 had just a combined three points in Games 5 and 6 against the Kings while getting key goals from players like Mattias Janmark, Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, and Connor Brown.
In fact, every forward outside of Jeff Skinner and Vasily Podkolzin managed to find the back of the net in the first round. Brown, Perry, and Janmark all had multiple goals against LA through six games.
If that continues into the second round, that will give Edmonton a major boost against the Golden Knights.
3. Oilers have the better goalie (so far)
Goaltending has been a hot topic for the Oilers, but analytics are actually on their side when it comes to the matchup with Vegas.
Calvin Pickard may not seem like your prototypical playoff starter, but he is 4-0 so far this postseason, has posted a .893 SV%, and is the only undefeated goaltender left in the contention. Surprisingly, that beats Golden Knights starter Adin Hill, who posted a dismal .880 against the Minnesota Wild through six games.
That’s not all, as MoneyPuck is also giving Pickard the advantage in goals saved above expected (GSAx) at -0.9 over Hill’s -2.0.
Hill may have the better overall reputation and a Stanley Cup to his name, but right now, he is struggling to put together consistent goaltending for Vegas.
4. Golden Knights don’t have their Oilers killer
One player who plagued Edmonton back in their 2023 series against the Golden Knights was Jonathan Marchesseault, who picked up five goals in six games to help sink the Oilers back then.
The good news is that he no longer plays for Vegas after signing with the Nashville Predators last summer. So, that will be one player that McDavid and co. will no longer have to worry about when it comes to playing the Golden Knights.
That isn’t to say there aren’t other players to worry about with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone presenting massive threats, but neither of those players has quite the history that Marchessault did when it comes to scoring goals against Edmonton.
The Oilers will have to keep the rest of Vegas in check, but their resident Oilers killer is no longer on the team.