SUMMERLIN, Nev. -- Bruce Cassidy is like every hockey fan. He notices when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are on the ice for the Edmonton Oilers.
The Vegas Golden Knights coach appreciates what the two star forwards bring to the game.
“I think when they are on the ice together, it’s fun to watch -- if you are a fan,” Cassidy said Sunday.
But Cassidy is not a fan.
He is the man in charge of giving his team a game plan to contain the dynamic duo as the Golden Knights prepare for the start of a best-of-7-series in the Western Conference Second Round against the Oilers. Game 1 is at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS).
It won’t be easy.
McDavid is tied for second among all scorers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after putting up 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the six-game ouster of the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Draisaitl had 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
“You have to make sure you have your ducks in a row, how you want to defend,” Cassidy said. “That’s the biggest challenge. One little slip up and off they go.”
Cassidy knows of what he speaks. These two teams played in the second round two seasons ago. The Golden Knights advanced in six games, but not without a few scares from the top two forwards on the other side.
Draisaitl had four goals in Game 1, which Vegas won 6-4.
“That’s a night of not getting much sleep as a coach,” Cassidy said.
Draisaitl scored two more goals in Game 2, a 5-1 win for Edmonton, and McDavid had five points (two goals, three assists) in the first two games.
Things looked a bit grim, but Cassidy got his ducks in order.
Draisaitl had one assist and McDavid had five points in the rest of the series as Vegas won three of the final four games to advance and eventually win its first Stanley Cup.
“You learn from your failures and that was one of them,” McDavid said at practice Sunday. “[We’ve] definitely changed some things systemwise from that series, but it was a good learning experience, for sure.”
Those two players saw a pretty steady diet of Jack Eichel throughout the series. Slowly, but surely, Eichel started to get the best of them.
“They can hurt you a lot of different ways,” Eichel said. “They are both dynamic offensively. They can hurt you with the puck on their stick, they can create a lot for the other people on the ice with them, and they can create a lot for themselves.
“Two of the best players in our game, and we are going to need to account for them when they are on the ice. They do a lot of damage. Understand that you need to contain them and do what you can to do that.”
Eichel, the No. 1 center for the Golden Knights, is ideal for the assignment. He took center stage as a complete, 200-foot player in that series.
“I think anytime you play against those two guys, you are in the spotlight having to defend,” Cassidy said. “That’s the way it is. … If you get it done, you should get a pat on the back because it’s not easy. You have to have the ability to do it and you have to be willing to do it.
“Jack can skate and he’s strong enough to check against those players. We use [William] Karlsson a lot, too. It’s not one guy. That’ll be what we do again. We have two great defensive centers among other players. We have two guys that do it really well.”
By the end of the six-game series against the Minnesota Wild in the first round, Eichel and Karlsson were on a line together with Mark Stone. It’s as loaded as when Draisaitl and McDavid play together.
And, it’s more defensively responsible.
The Wild took a 2-1 series lead because their first line dominated early. But Cassidy figured things out and eventually settled on the super line that neutralized Minnesota’s top line.
The same thing happened two years ago against Edmonton. Its first line came out guns blazing in the first couple of games but was muted as the series advanced.
“I’m not going to sit here and say we did a great job, but as the series got better, we did a better and better job,” Cassidy said.
It also helped that Vegas won the battle among the other lines because they were deeper. Cassidy hopes that remains the case.
That will be decided across the next four to seven games and the leading man on each side of the first-line showdown can’t wait for the show to begin.
“It’s difficult any time you lose in the playoffs, especially when you feel you had a good team,” McDavid said of two seasons ago. “We felt we had a good team then, and obviously they had a great team as well.
“We feel like we have another good team this year and we have as good a chance as anyone. We look forward to getting to Vegas and getting started.”
Edmonton is the defending Western Conference champions and came one game short of winning the Stanley Cup, losing in seven games to the Florida Panthers.
“It’s two good teams going at it, trying to win and having a desire to win and compete at a high level,” Eichel said. “That’s how I look at it. They are a good team and we consider ourselves a good team. We are just going to go out there and try to prove we are the better team. That is how I look at it.”
