Oilers eliminated from playoffs due to even-strength scoring struggles

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights, losing 5-2 in Game 6 of the best-of-7 Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Place on Sunday.

Edmonton (50-23-9) was second in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Golden Knights (51-22-9). The Oilers finished the regular season on a nine-game winning streak and defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games in first round. But they lost consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 25-27 in losing Games 5 and 6 against the Golden Knights to be eliminated.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Derek Ryan, F; Mattias Janmark, F; Devin Shore, F; Nick Bjugstad, F; Ryan Murray, D; Oscar Klefbom, D; Mike Smith, G.

Potential restricted free agents: Ryan McLeod, F: Klim Kostin, F; Evan Bouchard, D

Potential 2023 Draft Picks: 4

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Oilers series coverage]

Here are the five reasons the Oilers were eliminated:

1. Lack of even-strength scoring

The Oilers power play was excellent against the Golden Knights, converting at 39.1 percent (9-for-23), but they were outscored 18-9 at even strength. In their four losses, the Oilers scored five goals while playing 5-on-5. They became too reliant on the power play in the series and the inability to win the even-strength battle eventually caught up to them. The Oilers had one power play in Game 6 and were unable to score on it.

As the series went along, it was expected that the power play was going to cool off or the power-play opportunities were going to dry up; either way, the Oilers were going to need more production from other sources. They didn't get it and came up short in the series, losing in the second round one year after making it to the Western Conference Final.

2. Goaltending not good enough

Stuart Skinner won the starting job from Jack Campbell with an excellent regular season, going 29-14-5 with a 2.75 goals against average and .914 save percentage, and he's a finalist for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. But things did not go as well during the playoffs; he had a 3.68 GAA and .883 save percentage in 12 games. Against Vegas, the 24-year-old had a 3.97 GAA and .875 save percentage in six games and was pulled three times, including in Game 6 after he allowed four goals in 17 shots through two periods. Campbell had a 1.01 GAA and .961 save percentage in four games in relief during the playoffs but was not given an opportunity to start. Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was loyal to Skinner through the postseason, but it might not have been the correct choice.

3. Not enough secondary scoring

The Oilers had three players with more than 100 points during the regular season in forwards Connor McDavid (153 points; 64 goals, 89 assists), Leon Draisaitl (128; 52 goals, 76 assists) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (104; 37 goals, 67 assists). Zach Hyman also had an NHL-high 83 points (36 goals, 47 assists). However, the Oilers were unable to generate much offense outside of Draisaitl and McDavid against the Golden Knights. Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman each scored one goal in the series, and Kailer Yamamoto and Evander Kane had none. The bottom two lines did not provide much more, with Warren Foegele scoring two goals in the series and Nick Bjugstad one, while Ryan McLeod, Derek Ryan, Klim Kostin, and Mattias Janmark were scoreless.

Darnell Nurse, who tied Tyson Barrie for the Edmonton scoring lead among defensemen during the regular season with 43 points (12 goals, 31 assists), had one assist in five games against Vegas; he was suspended for Game 5 after being assessed an instigator penalty with less than five minutes to play in Game 4.

4. Vegas made better adjustments

The Golden Knights realized they needed to keep McDavid and Draisaitl off the power play and did that in Game 6 by taking two minor penalties and giving the Oilers one power play. They also figured out how to shut down Draisaitl, who scored six goals in the first two games of the series but had one assist in the final four. In Game 6, Draisaitl did not have a point and was a minus-4.

Draisaitl blamed himself for having a poor outing in the final game of the season, but the Golden Knights deserve credit for making the proper adjustments against him and McDavid, who scored on the Oilers' first shot on goal 55 seconds into the game but was kept off the scoreboard for the rest of the 5-2 loss.

5. Second-period lulls proved costly

The Oilers outshot the Golden Knights 40-22 in Game 6 but were unable to overcome a poor second period, during which they allowed Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault to score a natural hat trick. Edmonton entered the period with a 2-1 lead and finished trailing 4-2. Despite a strong push in the third period, the Oilers were unable to cut into that deficit.

They had a similar situation in Game 5, taking a 2-1 lead into the second period and then allowed three goals in 89 seconds to go into the third trailing 4-2. McDavid scored in the third with a power-play goal during a five-minute boarding major assessed to Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar, but it was as close as the Oilers would get. The two second-period lulls cost Edmonton in a big way.