Vegas had a hard time creating offensive zone time because the Oilers’ D corps moved the puck up quickly all night. I also think Vegas didn’t forecheck as hard as they usually do, and I wonder if we see a slightly different approach from them tonight. As McDavid said, they expect Vegas to play better.

But the Oilers can as well, mainly by not playing from behind. The good news is they’ve proven they can come from behind. They set an NHL playoff record by winning five-consecutive games where they overcame a deficit.

“I think the group is just comfortable in those situations, we’ve been there plenty of times,” said McDavid on their ability to come back. “It is not necessarily the best position to put yourself in. We have to work on getting off to better starts and not put ourselves in that position, but we’ve shown we can come back and win and that is a great quality to have.”

The Oilers have only scored first once in their seven playoff games. That was in Game 3 v. LA, where they led 2-0, before allowing LA to gain a 3-2 lead, before the Oilers stormed back in the third period. They are 1-0 when scoring first, but they are an impressive 4-2 when allowing the first goal.

Vegas is 0-2 when allowing the first goal. They are now 4-1 when scoring first, and in only one of those wins did they come from behind. Unlike the Oilers they haven’t played from behind very often, but when Minnesota did score first, they crushed Vegas 5-2 both times. Outside of a third period comeback in Game 4, Vegas hasn’t showed the same ability as the Oilers to come back in games.

SNAPSHOTS….

— Connor Brown’s quickness has been on full display these playoffs. His insurance goal on Tuesday was a great example of how hard it is to defend speed in open ice. Brown blew by Shea Theodore, one of Canada’s best defensemen.

— Brown was the right guy to ask about John Klingberg’s stellar play. He knows the challenges of trying to find your game after major surgery.

“When you take a tool out of your arsenal — like for me, my pop — you feel a little incomplete. It affects your confidence, affects your swagger. Klinger, he’s been struggling with that run of injuries over the last couple of years, and I think you’re starting to see him feel good. And it just kind of rolls downhill from there.”

Klingberg is looking more and more like an excellent mid-season addition.

— On Tuesday, McDavid became the second-fastest player in NHL history to record 90 playoff assists. He did it in his 81st game. Only Wayne Gretzky (67GP) did it in fewer games. Mario Lemieux is third at 97 GP.

— In the same game, Evan Bouchard became the second-fastest D-man to 50 playoff assists. He did it in his 60th playoff game. Only Bobby Orr was faster, reaching 50 assists in 59 games. Pretty lofty company for McDavid and Bouchard.

— Bouchard is having another strong playoff performance. At some point, his detractors will have to recognize that he makes way more good plays than bad, and you should prepare yourself for him getting a significant raise. He will make the odd play that infuriates you, but he makes more plays that excite you.

— Vegas only had three forwards with multiple shots on goal in Game 1. Mark Stone was credited with two shots on goal, but one was the deflection off his skate. Jack Eichel had two shots, and both came in the first two minutes of the game. Vegas’ forwards created very little all night. They were noticeably slower than the Oilers. It might have been just one game, but I will be watching to see if they can create more time and space for themselves and get in and pressure the Oilers’ defence more than they did in Game 1.

— Some interesting Vegas stats courtesy of Ken Boelke (SinBin.vegas on X)…

In Game 1, VGK landed just nine shots on goal at 5-on-5. They had 28 unblocked shot attempts and 41 total shot attempts. Thus, they landed 32% of their unblocked shots and 22% of their total shots on net. Both of these are far and away the worst marks in the franchise’s history, which spans more than 700 regular-season and playoff games.

Lowest Percentage of Shot Attempts on Goal:
21.95% – R2 2025 Game 1 vs EDM
27.08% – SCF 2018 Game 3 vs WSH
28.85% – 3/5/25 vs TOR
29.63% – 4/10/24 vs EDM
30.00% – WCF 2018 Game 1 vs WPG

Lowest Percentage of Unblocked Shots on Goal:
32.14% – R2 2025 Game 1 vs EDM
40.54% – 3/25/25 vs TOR
45.61% – 4/10/24 vs EDM
48.72% – 3/16/18 vs MIN
50.00% – 4 Games

LINEUPS…

Oilers

Draisaitl – McDavid – Perry
Kane – RNH –Hyman
Frederic – Henrique – Brown
Podkolzin – Janmark– Arvidsson Nurse – Bouchard
Walman – Klingberg
Kulak – Emberson Pickard No lineup changes, again, for the Oilers. All four lines and the defence are playing well. Ty Emberson hasn’t played much during the five-game winning streak, averaging 8:15/game in that time. He logged 6:43 of ice time on Tuesday. They like him on the penalty kill, but limit his 5×5 minutes. He will need to improve his puck-moving. In his 4:49 of 5×5 play, he was hit four times. Klingberg was hit four times in 19:25, while Brett Kulak was hit three times in 18:40 and Nurse three times in 19:21. He has taken 21 hits in 56 minutes of 5×5 play in the playoffs. That is tied for the team lead with Kulak, but Kulak has logged 142 minutes 5×5. In the regular season, Emberson took 192 hits. Next closest was Troy Stecher at 113. Emberson will need to work on not putting himself in a position to take hits so often. He had the highest hits taken/60 in the NHL (among players with 42GP) at 11.79.

Golden Knights

Barbashev – Eichel – Stone
Saad – Hertl – Kolesar
Barbashev – Roy – Smith
Pearson – Howden – Olofsson Hague – Pietrangelo
McNabb – Theodore
Hanafin – Whitecloud Hill

Pavel Dorofeyev is still injured. Alex Pietrangelo did skate this morning and head coach Bruce Cassidy said he is an option for tonight. Cassidy said the Oilers were better than them in the series opener and he did not like how they forechecked.

“I just thought we were a little late at times, duplicated a few times and their first goal we were caught in between,” said Cassidy. “They’re going to look to make plays if you don’t play through them and that’s what they did. They bombed it up ice because we weren’t on time or our sticks were not in the right place to break up some of those plays. We have to have better sticks against a team that regroups with a lot of speed. So, take away time and space or get over people and have good sticks. It’s got to be both.”

TONIGHT…

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Will the Oilers make their run to the Cup a bit easier and win both games in Vegas? It is very doable, but this group has rarely taken the easier path. The Pacers and Knicks just won both on the road, so I’ll stick with the 1990s theme: Oilers are victorious 4-3.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: McDavid picks up two assists and passes Stan Mikita and Gordie Howe and mine moves into 34th place for most playoff assists. It is his 82nd playoff game (they played 155 and 153, respectively).

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Vasily Podkolzin scores and becomes the 12th Oilers forward with a goal this postseason.