Oilers vs. Golden Knights: Game 2 Information, Line Combinations, Starting Goaltenders, and More

The Edmonton Oilers snagged home-ice advantage away from the Pacific Division-winning Vegas Golden Knights with a commanding 4-2 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday. With another win on Thursday, the Oilers would return to Edmonton completely in control of this second-round series.

Let’s get set for Game 2.

Oilers vs. Golden Knights Game 2 Information

• Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025
• Start Time: 7:30 PM MT
• Location: Vegas, Nevada
• Venue: T-Mobile Arena
• Watch: CBC/SN (Canada), ESPN (USA), Fubo (Stream)

Projected Line Combinations

• Oilers: Three of Edmonton’s forward lines contributed goals in the team’s win in Game 1. The top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored the first two goals and tied the score after the Golden Knights went up 2-0 in the first period. The second line put the Oilers up 3-2 late in the third period with a goal from Evander Kane and the third line added insurance a couple of minutes later when Connor Brown buried his fourth of the playoffs. On the blueline, Evan Bouchard led the way with 26:27 on ice in Game 1, seeing time with both Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak. John Klingberg and Jake Walman logged roughly 19 minutes as the second pairing, while Ty Emberson played a team-low 6:43, with most of his usage coming on the penalty kill.
• Golden Knights: Winger Pavel Dorofeyev and defenceman Alex Pietrangelo both missed Game 1 and were absent from the team’s practice on Wednesday. Dorofeyev led the Golden Knights with 35 goals during the regular season and is dealing with an undisclosed injury suffered during Vegas’ first-round series with the Minnesota Wild. Ivan Barbashev was skating in Dorofeyev’s usual spot on the Golden Knights’ top forward line with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone at practice. William Karlsson is back as the team’s third-line centre after playing on the top line as a winger in Game 1. Pietrangelo led all Vegas skaters during the regular season in time on ice per game at 22:24. He’s out with an illness and is listed as day-to-day.

Projected Starting Goaltenders

• Oilers: Calvin Pickard secured his fifth straight playoff victory for the Oilers in Game 1 against the Golden Knights, once again elevating his performance dramatically as the game progressed. Pickard allowed two goals in the first half of the first period and then nothing else for the rest of the game. Through these five consecutive wins, Pickard has allowed only one goal in the third period or overtime. 
• Golden Knights: Adin Hill had a rough outing in Game 1, allowing four goals on 28 shots, but will likely be back in the net for Vegas in Game 2. The 2023 Stanley Cup winner had two bad showings in the first round of the playoffs and was pulled after two periods in Game 3 against the Wild. Despite being down 2-1 to Minnesota, the Golden Knights continued with Hill for the entire series and won in six games. Through seven playoff starts this year, Hill has an .876 save percentage.

Thoughts and Notes Going into Game 2

• The Oilers showed in Game 1 that they know how to beat the Golden Knights. After a slow start to the game, the visiting team found their legs and started to grind Vegas into the ground. It was like a role reversal from when the two teams met in the playoffs two years ago. Edmonton rolled three lines capable of driving play and providing offence while also mixing in a fourth line that can forecheck and backcheck effectively.
• Teams that go up 2-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series have gone on to win that series 87.6 percent of the time in league history. As we’ve seen recently, having a two-game lead doesn’t guarantee a series victory. The Oilers stormed back and beat the L.A. Kings in six games after dropping Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles. The Golden Knights won the first two games of their first-round series against the Dallas Stars last spring and wound up falling in seven games.
• The key for the Oilers is keeping their foot on the gas. They can’t look at Game 1’s victory and accept splitting the first two games in Vegas as a success. They should aim to go back to Edmonton up two games so they can get this series finished as quickly as possible. Vegas improved as the series went along two years ago. They quickly flipped a series tied 2-2 with momentum in Edmonton’s favour into a six-game victory.
• If the Golden Knights are going to win this series, they need Adin Hill to look more like he did in 2023 against the Oilers. Two years ago, Hill took over in the net for the Golden Knights in Game 2 after Laurent Brossoit was injured and posted a .932 save percentage between Games 3 and 6.