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Oilers Defeat Golden Knights 5-4 in Overtime, Lead Series 2-0
Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Vegas Golden Knights enter uncharted territory. With Game 2’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, they now trail 2-0 in the series. The Oilers’ lethal duo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were kept quiet all night until overtime when they connected on a 2-on-1 to seal the win.

Vegas now faces a steep climb, with just a 14% chance of winning the series after falling behind 2-0, a hole most teams struggle to escape. In Game 2, the Golden Knights traded blows with the 2024 Western Conference champs in a back-and-forth battle, but it wasn’t enough.

In the end, the Oilers prevailed, seizing control of the series in nearly every aspect. Here’s the recap as Vegas falls in Game 2, 5-4 in overtime.

Game Recap

Game 2 started much like Game 1, with Vegas striking first. This time, it was Victor Olofsson cashing in on the power play for his first career playoff goal, a timely one as the Golden Knights looked to set the tone early.

Midway through the second, the Oilers took momentum with back-to-back goals from Jake Walman and Vasily Podkolzin, pushing their lead to 3-1. Calvin Pickard also started to settle in, turning away several quality chances and keeping Vegas at bay throughout the period.

William Karlsson would then redirect a shot from Jack Eichel to cut the Oilers’ lead in half, and the Golden Knights went into the second intermission down 3-2.

Adin Hill’s rough night continued in the third as Evander Kane buried his third of the playoffs, extending Edmonton’s lead to 4-2. Olofsson responded with his second power-play goal of the game, mirroring his first and pulling Vegas back within one, making it 4-3.

With just under 10 minutes remaining, Alex Pietrangelo, who had an up-and-down night, stepped up to score the equalizer, making it 4-4.

Overtime started with a tough blow for Vegas as Nicolas Roy was called for cross-checking, receiving a five-minute major and a game misconduct. The Oilers couldn’t capitalize on the extended power play, but shortly after, McDavid went past Eichel at the point and fed Draisaitl for the game-winner, a 5-4 overtime win.

Vegas and Edmonton will be back at 6:00 p.m. PDT on Saturday night in Oil Country as the Golden Knights look to cut away at the Oilers’ 2-0 series lead.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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