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After 60 minutes of scoreless hockey in Game 5 between the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights, Kasperi Kapanen was the hero for Oil Country, scoring the game-winning goal. The Oilers won the game 1-0 in overtime in a defensively sound game between the two teams.
The Oilers dominated in nearly every factor and looked like true Stanley Cup contenders. In the end, they take down the Golden Knights in five games, as they now await their opponent in the Western Conference Final.
Despite the Golden Knights’ brilliant performance in net from Adin Hill, the offense couldn’t solve Stuart Skinner in back-to-back games, ultimately costing them their season. Here’s the game recap as Vegas looks ahead to the offseason.
Game Recap
The crowd in Las Vegas never seems to get old, and it was no surprise to see them on their feet ahead of puck drop in a pivotal Game 5. In the first period, both teams felt each other out and didn’t create any high-danger opportunities.
Only one shot was exchanged between both teams in the first seven minutes of action. The latter half of the first period looked much similar, with a lack of shots and chances. Hill and Skinner stayed sharp despite each side’s lack of chances.
The Oilers continued their power play struggles on the road, now going 0-for-14 during the playoffs. The Golden Knights also had a power play chance in the second period but didn’t convert either, and the game remained scoreless going into the third frame.
Both sides had some better chances in the third period, but nothing came from them, and the game headed to overtime, all knotted up at 0-0.
Halfway through overtime, Kapanen scored the winning goal in a scrum in front of Hill, sending the Oilers back to the Western Conference Final. The Oilers wait for their Round 3 opponent, whether the Dallas Stars or Winnipeg Jets, and the Golden Knights have questions to answer this offseason.
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Five most improved NHL teams heading into 2025-26
Hockey prediction season won’t end until early October, but we’re nearing the conclusion of the theoretical phase. Before training camps start, before we get a more accurate sense of line deployments and positional battles and injuries, we judge every NHL roster’s alterations by the names we see on paper. According to all teams’ offseason transactions, which have visibly improved their rosters the most? These five stand out to me. As an honorable mention, the San Jose Sharks almost made the list, but most of their additions were of the short-term variety, players they’ll surely flip at the 2026 Trade Deadline, so the likes of Jeff Skinner and John Klingberg don’t constitute long-term foundational improvements. Anaheim Ducks In: Chris Kreider, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Poehling, coach Joel Quenneville Out: John Gibson, Trevor Zegras, Robby Fabbri, Brock McGinn, Brett Leason, coach Greg Cronin The Ducks were already on an upward trajectory, posting their best record in six years and experiencing major breakouts from blueliner Jackson LaCombe and center Leo Carlsson. Now it feels like they’re ready to push for their first playoff berth since 2017-18. The Zegras era has mercifully ended. Carlsson and Mason McTavish will anchor this team up the middle for years to come (I’m not buying the notion McTavish will be traded or offer sheeted, FYI). Free-agent signing Granlund brings all-situations versatility and the ability to play any forward position. Kreider is just a season removed from scoring 39 goals and played through a litany of ailments during his final season as a New York Ranger, so he’s a decent bet to bounce back even at 34. He deepens a forward group whose projected third line of Frank Vatrano, Ryan Strome and Granlund would’ve been good enough for its first line a couple years ago. Lastly: whether Quenneville should be back as an NHL head coach doesn’t change the fact that he is. He’s one of the best ever when he’s behind the bench. His presence should help the Ducks achieve some semblance of the defensive discipline they need to become a Wildcard team. Carolina Hurricanes In: Nikolaj Ehlers, K’Andre Miller Out: Dmitry Orlov, Brent Burns, Jack Roslovic Year in, year out, the Canes play elite defensive hockey in Rod Brind’Amour’s grinding system only to find themselves missing that game-breaking scorer in key playoff moments. They had one in Jake Guentzel but lost him to free agency a year ago. They thought they had one in Mikko Rantanen last winter, but he wasn’t a stylistic fit. In Ehlers, they get a speedster with a poor playoff track record, but they also get an extremely productive player on a per-60 basis who was criminally underused as a Winnipeg Jet, struggling to even earn 16 minutes of ice time per game. Could we see a relatively late career breakout and an 80-point season if the Canes entrust Ehlers with a proper role? Miller, meanwhile, brings a well-rounded skill set, still has plenty of upside at 25 years old and won’t be asked to do too much too soon playing on a D-corps that includes the highly capable Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker, Jalen Chatfield and Shayne Gostisbehere, not to mention promising rookie Alexander Nikishin. The Canes lost no pieces that they couldn’t replace, and they elevated their roster’s ceiling, not just by signing Ehlers and trading for Miller, but also by ensuring their depth chart had breathing room to give Nikishin an opportunity. Watch out for prospect center Bradly Nadeau this season, too. Once he’s up with the team, he could replicate what Jackson Blake did as a rookie in 2024-25. Montreal Canadiens In: Noah Dobson, Zach Bolduc Out: Christian Dvorak, Logan Mailloux, Joel Armia, Michael Pezzetta, David Savard The Habs lost a bit of forward depth, and Savard retired from the blueline, but their two primary additions matter a ton. Dobson gives them a true top-pair talent on the right side, a play driver with a big shot. By splitting him and Lane Hutson onto different pairs, the Habs can ice a high-end offensive defenseman for 45 to 50 minutes of every game. And don’t sleep on that Mailloux-for-Bolduc trade. In addition to his high-teens goal total, Bolduc delivered exemplary defensive play as a rookie winger with the St. Louis Blues. He can help the Habs at both ends of the ice and isn’t done ascending as a 22-year-old who went in Round 1 of the 2021 NHL Draft. And while uber-prospect Ivan Demidov isn’t a new addition, he feels like one given he only crossed the Atlantic at the end of 2024-25. He’s another reason we can expect a step forward for Montreal — from scrappy wild-card team to a challenger near the top of the Atlantic Division. Utah Mammoth In: JJ Peterka, Brandon Tanev, Nate Schmidt, Vitek Vanecek, Scott Perunovich Out: Michael Kesselring, Josh Doan, Nick Bjugstad, Matias Maccelli The Mammoth are already rising, having jumped from 77 to 89 points in their first season post-relocation from Arizona. Now they’ve added a legitimate top-six forward in Peterka, who is coming off a 27-goal, 68-point season and probably hasn’t reached his ceiling yet. Brandon Tanev adds energy and experience to the bottom-six forward group, while Schmidt was one of the best defensemen in the entire NHL at crushing sheltered matchups with the Florida Panthers last season and should be deployed similarly as a Mammoth. The gains outweigh the mid-lineup players Utah lost over the offseason. Also factoring in the continued growth of talented young forwards Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, the Mammoth look ready to push hard for a playoff spot in the 95-point range this coming season. Vegas Golden Knights In: Mitch Marner, Jeremy Lauzon, Colton Sissons Out: Nicolas Roy, Victor Olofsson, Nic Hague, Ilya Samsonov, Tanner Pearson That departures list for Vegas essentially includes stalwart defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, too, as his hip problems would require multiple major surgeries to solve and could prevent him from continuing his playing career altogether. Shouldn’t the prognosis be rather grim for Vegas, then? No. Not when you’ve added Marner, who is coming off a 102-point season. He’s one of the best playmakers in the NHL, he’s a two-time first-team all-star, and in the past five seasons he’s seventh in leaguewide scoring and first in takeaways. He also lands in an environment perfectly suited to remedy his problems performing under pressure in the playoffs: a Sun Belt team full of players who won a Stanley Cup in 2022-23. The Golden Knights were already a division champion last season, and now they add a Hall-of-Fame-grade forward to the mix. The entire Western Conference should be afraid.
Former Green Bay Packers RB to miss entire 2025 NFL season due to injury
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some concerning injuries to significant members of their roster. As their fans are well aware, the Packers have seen multiple wide receivers projected to be at the top of the depth cart go down during training camp with various injuries. Christian Watson, of course, has not been practicing all offseason as he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 against the Chicago Bears. In addition to him, the Packers also played their previous preseason game without Romeo Doubs (back), Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). And while Doubs returned to practice this week, Reed and Wicks remain out. Elsewhere around the NFL, other teams are dealing with injuries of their own, and some involve players that are former Packers. Former Green Bay Packers running back Patrick Taylor is out for the 2025-26 NFL season One of these players is former Packers running back Patrick Taylor, who played in Green Bay from 2021-2023. An undrafted free agent who often filled in as Green Bay’s third running back, he accumulated 261 rushing yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Packers. He found himself out of a job when the Packers revamped their running back room before the 2024 NFL season. Taylor ended up with the San Francisco 49ers last season and had the best year of his career with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown while appearing in 13 games. He will not be playing any games this season as San Francisco just put him on season-ending injured reserve: NFL teams can only have so many players on an injured reserve list. Interestingly, Taylor’s injury led to the 49ers to release another former Packer, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was placed on injured reserve last week. In order to release an injured player, teams and that player must come to an injury settlement, which St. Brown received. He is now free to sign with any team in the NFL should he be able to pass a physical.
Colts' QB decision makes no sense, sets stage for wasted season
The Indianapolis Colts must have zero belief that Anthony Richardson is capable of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. That is the only logical conclusion one can draw from their decision to go with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season, while also giving him a lengthy leash to play through. It's not only nonsensical, but it sets the stage for what could be a completely wasted season of football where they do not get anything from it. Whether the Colts decided to go with Jones or Richardson, their ceiling was unlikely to change. They're not a Super Bowl-contending team, and they may not even be a playoff team. The Colts have a very flawed roster that is probably more than just one quarterback away. But that's part of the reason why it would have at least made sense to give Richardson one more run at it. While the early part of his career has been filled with injuries and inconsistency, he is still a player they used a No. 4 overall pick on. He is also a player who is still full of talent, a big arm and — in theory — a lot of potential. He is in a lot of ways still a mystery and something of an unknown as an NFL player. He's played only 15 games, thrown just 348 passes and is still 23 years old. There is still something there that a team can dream on. It would make sense to try to see if he can figure it out given that unknown potential and upside. Jones, on the other hand, is the complete opposite in every way. He is a mostly known commodity in the NFL. He has appeared in 70 regular-season games and thrown 2,241 passes, and he is going to be 28 years old when the season begins. There are no secrets here. Everybody knows what he is: veteran mediocrity. Sure, there is a chance he could follow the path of Geno Smith and finally put things together and become an above-average starter after washing out with the New York Giants. But those types of success stories are the exception and not the rule. After six years and nearly 2,500 passes in the NFL you start to get a sense for what a quarterback is and what they can do. Jones has shown everybody who and what he is as an NFL starting quarterback: not good enough. What are the Colts hoping to accomplish here? Maybe Jones is a marginal upgrade over Richardson right now. But is he enough of an upgrade to take them from a mid-level, average team to a playoff team or a contender? Not likely. Not in a stacked AFC. Due to Richardson's upside, if he can reach it, he might actually have the ability to do that. That alone should have been the incentive to give him one more run at it. If he washes out, then you might know for sure that he is not your answer and that you need to seriously look at the position again in 2026. The season might not go well, but it at least wouldn't be a waste. Right now, the Colts just seem to be hoping that Jones can get them to another eight- or nine-win season that keeps them squarely in the middle of the NFL standings. Nobody wants to see that. Nobody wants to watch that. They should have at least given Richardson one more swing at it. Now they have pretty much already written him off as a potential option without ever really knowing for sure if he could do the job or reach his potential.
Terry McLaurin, Commanders standoff reportedly 'will end' this way
Eyebrows were raised when it was learned over the weekend that the Washington Commanders had activated wide receiver Terry McLaurin off the active/physically unable to perform list after he missed practice time with a supposed ankle injury amid his desire for a multiyear contract extension. McLaurin is in the final year of his current deal and requested a trade on July 31. For an article published on Monday morning, ESPN's Ben Solak revealed that a recent visit to the Commanders during training camp left him believing there's only one realistic outcome regarding the situation involving Washington and McLaurin. "Not only can I not find anyone who believes wide receiver Terry McLaurin will play for another team in 2025," Solak wrote. "I can't find anyone who has a remotely plausible hypothetical in which McLaurin plays for another team in 2025. This section might better be called one thing I didn't hear: a way McLaurin actually gets out of Washington. I strongly believe this standoff will end with a compromise extension before Week 1." McLaurin reportedly wants "parts" of the five-year, $150M contract that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf as part of acquiring him from the Seattle Seahawks in March. While the Commanders seemingly aren't keen on giving a receiver who turns 30 years old in September that type of a deal, it's always been unlikely that they would trade the playmaker for a future draft asset coming off their trip to last season's NFC Championship Game. McLaurin finished last season with the second-most receiving touchdowns (13) in the league. He's the favorite target of quarterback and reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, who is viewed by many as a legitimate candidate to win the Most Valuable Player Award for the upcoming season. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Commanders tied for third (with the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers) among the betting favorites at +950 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX this coming February. The Commanders activating McLaurin suggests he may not be willing to forfeit money by sitting regular-season games out if he doesn't have a signed extension in hand when Washington opens the campaign with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. That said, it remains to be seen what type of "compromise extension" he could accept to take the field for that Week 1 matchup at Northwest Stadium.
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