Pluses, minuses for Golden Knights-Oilers

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Vegas Golden Knights (42-27-8) visit the Edmonton Oilers (47-24-5) at Rogers Place on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNW, TNT, MAX, SCRIPPS) in a matchup between two Stanley Cup contenders.

Here's my breakdown of the game.

Golden Knights

Pluses: Their new additions are playing well. Tomas Hertl, acquired from the San Jose Sharks prior to the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8, had an assist in his Vegas debut, a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Anthony Mantha has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 15 games since he was acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on March 5. Noah Hanifin, who arrived in a three-way deal involving the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers on March 6, has eight points (two goals, six assists) and is averaging 23:01 of ice time in 15 games. Jack Eichel is healthy, and had he been healthy the whole season he would be on pace for 90 points, which says something about the depth of the Golden Knights. Lastly, Jonathan Marchessault has scored an NHL career-high 41 goals. He won the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy and it has carried over into the regular season.

Minuses: They've lost two straight on the road, at the Canucks on Monday and 7-4 at the Arizona Coyotes on April 5. The Golden Knights are 18-16-6 on the road and 24-11-2 at home. They are also without captain Mark Stone, forwards Nicolas Roy and William Carrier, and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, but goalie Adin Hill will start his first game since March 23 because of a lower-body injury after practicing Tuesday. Those are five really important pieces of their team. And for as much skill as they have, they only rank 21st on the power play (19.1 percent).

Oilers

Pluses: Connor McDavid has come back in the scoring race and has 130 points, nine behind Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the NHL, but the forward has a lower-body injury and may miss the game. Leon Draisaitl has 102 points and Zach Hyman has 52 goals. Defenseman Evan Bouchard (79 points) and Mattias Ekholm (43 points) have been great on offense as well as defense. Stuart Skinner is 34-14-5 with a 2.62 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and two shutouts in 55 games (53 starts) but let's not forget about backup Calvin Pickard; he's 12-6-0 with a 2.38 GAA, .913 save percentage and one shutout. The Oilers also have the fourth-best power play in the League (26.6 percent).

Minuses: Edmonton lost to Vegas 3-1 on Feb. 6 and won 5-4 in a shootout Nov. 28, and wants revenge after a six-game loss to the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round last season. The two teams could also meet again in the first round this season, so the Oilers would like to have some confidence in case that happens. Also, the penalty kill is in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th (79.4 percent).