Oilers heading home confident after nail-biting overtime win against Golden Knights

Donna Spencer · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 09, 2025 5:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The Edmonton Oilers caput location from Las Vegas with the likelihood successful their favour.

Teams that triumph the archetypal 2 games of a best-of-seven bid that starts connected the roadworthy are 88-22 for a winning percent of .800, according to the NHL.

The Oilers taking 2 astatine T-Mobile from the Vegas Golden Knights was the archetypal clip since 2017 that Edmonton opened a playoff bid with 2 roadworthy wins. The Anaheim Ducks winning that second-round bid successful 7 games is simply a cautionary communicative for Edmonton, however.

A cardinal fig successful that turnaround for the Ducks was existent Oiler guardant Corey Perry with 3 goals and 2 assists successful the past 4 games, including a double-overtime victor successful Game 5.

Captain Connor McDavid said the Oilers were "probably fortunate" successful a 5-4 overtime triumph successful Game 2 successful Las Vegas, and the connection "steal" surfaced a fewer times successful Edmonton's post-game interviews.

"The group's feeling confident, but I consciousness similar our champion is conscionable inactive coming," McDavid said. "We're conscionable gathering and gathering our game.

"I consciousness our best's inactive coming, and I'd anticipation to spot it astatine location here."

WATCH | Oilers instrumentality crippled 1 of bid against Golden Knights

Game 3 is Saturday astatine Rogers Place followed by Monday's Game 4. A Game 5, if necessary, is Wednesday backmost astatine T-Mobile.

The Golden Knights were undaunted aft a stout Game 2 that included superior peculiar teams and the instrumentality of apical defenceman Alex Pietrangelo aft sitting retired Game 1 with illness.

Pietrangelo scored the third-period equalizer arsenic the 2023 Stanley Cup champions overcame deficits of 3-1 and 4-2 successful the game. The Golden Knights person ne'er mislaid 2 games to unfastened a bid successful their eight-year history.

Vegas caput manager Bruce Cassidy felt his squad deserved a amended destiny successful Game 2 and his players tin astatine slightest instrumentality that sentiment to Edmonton.

"How volition the guys look astatine that? If they instrumentality it arsenic 'hey, we've conscionable got to transportation that over', we've ever said we privation to get amended arsenic the bid goes connected and we were surely amended than successful Game 1," Cassidy said. "It's a seasoned group."

Cassidy said determination was a accidental Pavel Dorofeyev, the team's starring scorer successful the regular play with 35 goals, could play Saturday aft missing 3 games with injury.

Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard stretched his playoff triumph streak to six games to necktie Andy Moog (1983) and Grant Fuhr (twice successful 1987) for the fifth-longest successful franchise history.

Pickard had 2 playoff starts to his sanction erstwhile helium took implicit for Stuart Skinner successful Game 3 of the first-round bid against the Los Angeles Kings erstwhile Edmonton trailed 2-0.

The 33-year-old Pickard was self-effacing aft 4 consecutive wins to destruct the Kings erstwhile helium said "my occupation is conscionable to deed the shot back, marque the saves erstwhile I can."

Pickard was much than that successful Game 2 astatine T-Mobile wherever helium held the fort until the Oilers recovered a higher cogwheel successful the 2nd period.

His 28 saves included a halt connected all-alone Tanner Pearson going backhand-forehand successful the 2nd period, and back-to-back saves connected Tomas Hertl and Victor Olofsson to widen overtime.

Pickard looked uncomfortable aft a prevention conscionable earlier Pietrangelo's tying goal, but Edmonton's goalie repelled each 7 shots helium faced successful overtime.

"He's been coagulated giving america a accidental to triumph each crippled since helium came in," Oilers guardant Zach Hyman said. "We needed a small spot much than different nights."

Oilers forwards not named McDavid oregon Leon Draisaitl person combined for 22 goals successful 8 playoff games. Defencemen Darnell Nurse has chipped successful a mates goals.

Defenceman Jake Walman collected the archetypal NHL post-season extremity of his vocation arsenic did Vasily Podkolzin successful Game 2. Edmonton's 4th enactment of Podkolzin, Mattias Janmark and Viktor Arvidsson manufactured the archetypal 2 goals of the game.

So Pickard and extent scoring helped support the Oilers afloat successful Game 2 until McDavid and Draisaitl weaved their magic successful overtime. McDavid and Draisaitl had their hands connected the aforesaid game-winning extremity for the seventh clip successful the playoffs

"The squad heavy relies connected Connor and Leon and they're peculiar players and they are going to triumph america games but if you privation to triumph a Stanley Cup you request everybody, you request everyone contributing and you don't cognize who is going to beryllium the leader connected immoderate fixed night," said Hyman.