SERIES PREVIEW
Vegas and Edmonton will renew their rivalry in the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with both teams coming off six-game series wins in the opening round. The Golden Knights prevailed in six games when they faced the Oilers in the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and it took the team just 11 more games to find the eight wins necessary to win the Stanley Cup. Edmonton's run in the 2024 postseason featured a Western Conference championship and Connor McDavid's first Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs, but a 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final defined the Oilers' season. The two most recent winners of the West are set for another battle with the right to advance to the Western Conference Final. Click here for a full series preview.
REGULAR SEASON SERIES RECAP
Vegas and Edmonton split the season series as each time beat the other twice in four matchups during the regular season. The Golden Knights received a pair of goals from Noah Hanifin in the third period to earn a 4-2 win against the Oilers in their first meeting on Nov. 6 at Rogers Place. In the second meeting between Vegas and Edmonton on Dec. 3 at T-Mobile Arena, Ivan Barbashev scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory. Adin Hill stopped all 28 shots that came his way to lift Vegas to the win. It was the first game since Feb. 20, 1944, to have just one goal scored and zero penalties taken by both teams. The Oilers skated to a 6-3 win just 11 days later as Leon Draisaitl’s three-point effort (1G, 2A) propelled Edmonton to the win at Rogers Place. Barbashev, Brett Howden and Victor Olofsson scored for Vegas in the loss. In their final matchup of the regular season, the Oilers scored three times in the second period to take a 3-2 win on April 1 at T-Mobile Arena. Nicolas Roy and Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Golden Knights while Jake Walman, Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson found the back of the net for the Oilers. Barbashev led all skaters in head-to-head scoring with five points (2G, 3A) in four games against Edmonton. Hanifin (2G, 2A) and Jack Eichel (1G, 3A) each had four points for Vegas while Draisaitl (2G, 2A) was the only Oiler to post four points against the Golden Knights.
ROUND 1 RECAP
The Golden Knights eliminated the Minnesota wild in six games to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the Golden Knights claimed a 4-2 win in Game 1, the Wild answered with 5-2 victories in Game 2 and Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Vegas tied the series with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 and reclaimed the series lead with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights closed out the series with a 3-2 win in Game 6 at Xcel Energy Center to punch their ticket to Round 2. Tomas Hertl (3G, 2A) and Jack Eichel (1G, 4A) each had a team-high five points in the first-round series win against the Wild. Mark Stone (2G, 2A) and Shea Theodore (2G, 2A) each had four points while Brett Howden led the team in game-winning goals with two against Minnesota.
VGK PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERS
Tomas Hertl – 5 points (3G, 2A)
Jack Eichel – 5 points (1G, 4A)
Mark Stone – 4 points (2G, 2A)
Shea Theodore – 4 points (2G, 2A)
EDM PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERS
Connor McDavid – 11 points (2G, 9A)
Leon Draisaitl – 10 points (3G, 7A)
Evan Bouchard – 7 points (4G, 3A)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 5 points (3G, 2A)
Connor Brown – 5 points (3G, 2A)
Zach Hyman – 5 points (2G, 3A)
AROUND THE NHL
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers (Series tied, 0-0)
Winnipeg Jets vs. Dallas Stars (Series tied, 0-0)
Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Series tied, 0-0)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers (Toronto leads, 1-0)
KEYS TO THE GAME
Familiar Foe: The Golden Knights will face the Oilers in the second round for the second time in three seasons. Vegas found the winning formula in a six-game series en route to the Stanley Cup in 2023 and will look to repeat that success against Edmonton in 2025.
Star Power: Both teams feature some of the best players in the NHL and the matchups will be must-see TV. The Golden Knights will be focused on getting the most out of Eichel, Stone and Hertl while trying to shut down Edmonton's McDavid, Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard.
