Knights learn opponent for second-round NHL playoff series
The Golden Knights will face the Edmonton Oilers when the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs begin.
The Oilers advanced Saturday by closing out the Los Angeles Kings with a 5-4 victory in Game 6. The Knights moved on Thursday by defeating the Winnipeg Jets in five.
The two teams have never met in the postseason before. The Knights were 1-2-1 against the Oilers in the regular season, and are 8-9-2 against Edmonton all-time.
The schedule for the series has yet to be announced. Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 will be at T-Mobile Arena, while 3, 4 and 6 will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Oilers enter the series with plenty of firepower. They had the NHL’s No. 1 offense in the regular season with 325 goals, 24 more than any other team. Their power play is also the best in league history, scoring 32.4 percent of the time.
The reason for that is the superstars Edmonton boasts.
Center Connor McDavid, in his eighth NHL season, won his fifth scoring title with 153 points and likely earned a third Hart Trophy for MVP. McDavid also led the league in goals for the first time with 64.
Center Leon Draisaitl wasn’t far behind. He was the NHL’s second-leading scorer with 128 points and finished fourth in goals with 52. Draisaitl, the 2020 Hart Trophy winner, also was named the league’s best passer in the annual NHL Players Association poll.
The two offensive dynamos are complemented by other skilled forwards such as left wing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and right wings Zach Hyman and Evander Kane.
Edmonton’s question marks come on the blue line and in net. The Oilers gave up the 17th-most goals in the NHL this season, and goaltenders Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell come with question marks.
Skinner posted a .913 save percentage in the regular season but is still a 24-year-old rookie playing in the playoffs for the first time. Campbell struggled after signing a five-year, $25 million deal as a free agent this offseason, putting up an .888 save percentage in 36 appearances.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
