Edmonton Oilers strike it rich in a Game 1 rally to beat the Vegas Golden Knights

The Oilers did end up relying on the “donair” part of their lineup for the first two tallies; the Hart Trophy line of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Corey Perry continues to be dynamite. It was one of the best lines the Oilers used in terms of expected goals percentage in the regularseason, and that first goal should show you why Perry can still play with the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl. Sublime McDavid feed, perfect positioning from Perry, nifty hands to dance the puck around Hill and into the net.

Draisaitl got the second goal, with a cheeky, smart play to retrieve the puck from just below the goal line, and throw it into the chaos within the Vegas crease. A bounce off Hill’s pads, into the net. He planned all that—that’s 1,000,000 IQ on display.

Then, the depth did the rest of the work. Zach Hyman scored what stood as the game winner with a shot from distance; not a typical Zach Hyman goal but they’re all hard work, all the same. Connor Brown sealed the deal with a breakaway goal reminiscent of Game 5 in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers finished with only 28 shots on the Vegas net, but they made the most of their opportunities and left Hill sporting an .857 save percentage for the trouble.

Forcing Vegas to fold with good defence

Shout-out to the defence for choosing to go back to their form from Game 5 against the Kings, rather than leaving everything wide-open and making Calvin Pickard’s life difficult. Pickard probably appreciates only seeing 17 shots against.

Granted, the Golden Knights were in the Oilers zone a lot more often than 17 shots total would suggest, especially in the early going when Mark Stone single-handedly put them ahead 2–0. But all second period, a lot of their rushes were either snuffed out, or ended in shot attempts that were blocked or missed the net. The middle frame saw Vegas only get one shot on goal through the entire 20 minutes. And with the score tied 2–2 after one minute of third-period play, the Oilers only allowed six third-period Golden Knights’ shots on goal.

Evan Bouchard continued his sudden hot streak of good defence that had been missing in action for a while beforehand. John Klingberg was perhaps the most noticeable D-man on the Oilers’ side in this game. Most shockingly, per MoneyPuck.com, this was a rare Brett Kulak off-night, which makes the achievement for the rest of the Oilers’ defence corps that much greater. Bouchard, Klingberg, and Jake Walman all finished with positive expected-goals percentages, with Walman-Klingberg especially crushing opposition to the tune of 77–78% of the even-strength expected goals.

Except the Oilers have. In the seven games they have played so far in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they have trailed at some point in all seven of them. In six out of the seven, they have erased the opposition’s leads entirely, including the four-goal comeback in Game 1 against Los Angeles. Game 2 of that series was the only time they didn’t complete a comeback, though they still cut a 3–0 L.A. lead down to 3–2 before the Kings were able to pull away later in the third.

This Game 1 against Vegas is the Oilers’ fifth come-from-behind playoff win in a row. If you’re wondering when was the last time that happened, that answer is never. Hyman did say postgame that, obviously it’s far from ideal to play catch-up so often, but that the Oilers have a confident belief in their ability to rally.

It helps, too, that Pickard is emulating 2023–24 Skinner, who emulated Grant Fuhr before him. You may not have the start you want as a goalie, and a goal here and there might be an iffy one to give up, but if you can say “they’re not getting another one” and come through, that helps the team rally. As the Oilers were able to for the fifth time in a row.

What’s next for the Oilers

Game 2 goes in Vegas on Thursday night, with the same 7:30PM start time. Here’s hoping the Oilers find a way to start on time, or, if absolutely necessary, make it six rally wins in a row.