Oilers vs Golden Knights: Jack Eichel, Connor McDavid Feud Continues

The Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights will meet in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pacific Division rivals will decide which team is superior in the division en route to the Western Conference Championship round. This is the second time in the past three postseasons that the two teams will square off, with the Golden Knights winning their previous meeting in six games.

Headlining the Golden Knights and Oilers matchup are the superstars who have been tied to one another since their NHL careers began. The 2015 NHL Draft began with two names being called: Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. The two forwards have solidified themselves amongst the best of their generation, and they cross paths once again with the Stanley Cup in both of their sights.

The top two picks of the 2015 NHL Draft are the most productive first and second picks in a draft since their selections. Eichel has 608 points in 615 career games, and just completed a regular season where he recorded 94 points in 77 games. McDavid is the best point producer to enter the NHL since Jaromir Jagr. The five-time Art Ross Trophy winner has 1,082 career points in just 712 regular-season contests.

While McDavid has earned more of the scoring and individual accolades, Eichel has the one thing McDavid has yet to achieve. Eichel and the Golden Knights captured the Stanley Cup in 2023, and the second overall pick from 2015 was a critical part of that Cup run. He scored 26 points in 22 games in his first trip to the postseason.

McDavid has been excellent in the postseason, but hasn't reached the pinnacle of the sport. He and the Oilers were a goal short of the prize last year, as they forced the defending champions to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Eager to avenge their shortcomings from last season, McDavid and company are hoping to take that frustration out on Vegas.

Eichel and McDavid have been inexplicably linked since arriving in the NHL. These two came in together and have been adding exceptional play to the league for the past decade. Now, they meet again with the winner getting a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals.