Oilers use experience to mount another comeback in Game 1 of Western 2nd Round

LAS VEGAS -- Pain leads to progress.

The Edmonton Oilers hope they are done with the pain and are ready for the progress.

It certainly looked like it in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round when the Oilers scored the final four goals in a 4-2 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

“That’s part of having a mature, older group,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Those players have seen a lot, a lot of good things, a lot of bad things.

“During the playoffs, things fluctuate. There are a lot of things that can stress out the team. No matter what happens, I think we handle it really well. Tonight is an excellent example.”

The Oilers are the first team in Stanley Cup Playoff history with five straight come-from-behind victories in a single postseason. Each of their four wins in their six-game first round series against the Los Angeles Kings also came from furious rallies.

Vegas had four straight comeback wins in 2023, the year it won the Stanley Cup. It was a testament to its championship mettle. And in the second round that postseason, the Golden Knights defeated these Oilers, rallying to win the final two games after the series was tied 2-2.

That hurt the Oilers, who believed they were the better team, victimized by poor puck management.

They learned and came back last season and played late into June, reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Florida Panthers, another team that had to lose before they could win, who had to suffer before they could celebrate.

So have these Oilers learned the necessary lessons to be champions?

It appeared to be the case Tuesday and it gave them the upper hand in the series.

Teams that win Game 1 in a best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are 531-249 (68.1 percent).

“It gives you a great opportunity,” said forward Zach Hyman, who scored the winning goal at 16:58 of the third period. “Steal one in their rink and have a chance for both.

“We haven’t been in that position a lot. It’s nice to get the first one out of the way.”

After allowing Vegas captain Mark Stone to score two first-period goals, the Oilers got to their game and played near flawlessly.

The Golden Knights managed just one shot in the second period, and then Edmonton scored three goals in the third period to pull away.

The Oilers have now outscored opponents 18-6 after the second intermission in their seven playoff games this season.

It was 3-0 Tuesday.

Leon Draisaitl scored a video-game worthy goal to tie the game at 2-2 just 57 seconds into the third.

Goalie Adin Hill reached for a shot from Evan Bouchard that had been tipped and was fluttering over his net. He couldn’t reach it and suddenly the puck was in the vicinity of Draisaitl, who whacked it in the general direction of Hill and watched as it banked off the goalie’s leg pad and into the net.

Lucky? Maybe.

But the Oilers saw it as the reward for hard work, redemption for the second period in which they outshot the home team 12-1 but couldn’t get a goal.

Hyman then scored the winner off the rush and Connor Brown added a breakaway goal for the 4-2 final at 18:14.

That’s three different forward lines providing goals in the third period.

“I can’t say enough about our team game,” said Corey Perry, who cut it to 2-1 at 16:26 of the first period off tic-tac-toe passes from Connor McDavid and Draisaitl.

That goal was cited as the turning point by many, giving Edmonton a sliver of hope heading into the dressing room for intermission.

“The pick-me-up, when you consider, is when we are able to score that goal,” Knoblauch said. “I thought that gave our bench a little bit of life, a little excitement.”

Few have more playoff experience than Perry, who was imported to Edmonton on Jan. 22, 2024, in order to provide some postseason savvy and veteran stability. He has played 222 postseason games in his career, the most among active NHL players, with five teams.

He won the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks, almost another lifetime ago. He knows what championship hockey looks like and he believes it was on display here.

“We stuck with our game plan and found a way,” he said. “We came here to win hockey games and we found a way tonight.”