The Edmonton Oilers can’t keep scoring their way out of trouble

Credit: Connor McDavid and Mark Stone (© Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

Resiliency. The Golden Knights have it. And the Oilers better find it.

Scoring wasn’t an issue on Wednesday night for either team. Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series finished 6-4 in favor of Vegas. But every time Edmonton had a chance to take control of the game, Vegas punched the Oilers square in the face.

I mean, Leon Draisaitl scored the first of his four – FOUR! – goals 3:56 into the game on the power play, yet Edmonton couldn’t keep the momentum. Just 40 seconds later, Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev tied the game 1-1 after he outworked the Oilers deep in their defensive zone and deposited a shot from the slot.

The rest of the first period was all Vegas, even though Draisaitl did manage to add a tally for Edmonton with 11 seconds left in the opening frame. But for me, the tone was set. Vegas was in charge.

You’d think going into the locker room after a lackluster first period would have woken up the Oilers. But Edmonton was never able to find their speed, and they allowed Vegas to attack in waves on the rush.

That’s a recipe for disaster against the Golden Knights. Because no matter how structured Vegas is defensively, they ultimately depend on transition scoring. And in the second period, Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner had to come up with several huge saves against odd-man rushes created by the Golden Knights.

Edmonton was able to get out of the second period relatively unscathed despite the score remaining 3-2 in favor of Vegas. And the Oilers got a huge break when Vegas blueliner Alex Pietrangelo took an avoidable roughing penalty at the 20:00 minute mark of the second period.

Once again, Leon Draisaitl came through for Edmonton by scoring on the power play to tie the game 3-3. But it’s what happened next that really blew me away.

The Oilers laid down. And Vegas dug deep into their mental arsenal to find the extra juice necessary to tilt the game back in their favor.

Just over a minute after Draisaitl scored his third tally of the evening, Barbashev deflected home his second goal of the game. Which was bad enough for the Oilers. The Golden Knights regained the lead almost immediately and took any wind out of Edmonton’s sail.

But for me, it was how careless the Oilers were. They left Barbashev all alone in front of the net. It’s as if once Edmonton scored to tie the game, they thought winning would be easy. But the Oilers stopped thinking.

Less than 50 seconds later, Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas to make it a 5-3 game in favor of the Golden Knights. And this time, it was a calamity of errors that doomed Edmonton. A bad turnover followed by an even worse line change allowed Stephenson and Vegas linemate Mark Stone to attack in transition. The duo made a slick play to score. But the entire sequence was avoidable if Edmonton hadn’t collectively turned off their brain.

And that’s what really concerns me. Edmonton should have no problem keeping pace mentally with Vegas, no matter how talented and disciplined the Golden Knights are under head coach Bruce Cassidy.

While the Oilers had a difficult time breaking through the 1-2-2 neutral zone employed by Vegas, they did have scoring chances. Even in the third period at even strength, Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse both had clean looks with speed towards the Golden Knights cage. And Edmonton did have the majority of shots taken in the third period.

But that’s typical of Vegas. The Golden Knights spent the entire 2022-23 season locking down leads late in the third period, keeping shots to the outside and getting pucks out of the defensive zone.

Vegas and Edmonton are both capable of winning when trailing. But Wednesday night, Vegas was the stronger, more resilient team. And don’t get me wrong, Edmonton showed that same mental toughness at times during the regular season. Somewhere deep down, the Oilers have it.

But the difference for me is that the Oilers have routinely scored their way out of trouble this season. While Vegas managed to not only score timely goals, but also lock down defensively when needed. Edmonton was not as good as Vegas on both sides of the puck in Game 1, and it showed.

It was encouraging when the Oilers got some life midway through the final frame when Draisaitl scored yet again to make it 5-4. But his goal was over five minutes after Stephenson tallied for Vegas. It wasn’t nearly as much of a momentum swing as what the Golden Knights had accomplished earlier in the game.

Just when Edmonton was starting to pressure late in the third period, the Oilers took a too many men on the ice penalty. With 1:03 left to play in regulation, a mistake like that cannot happen. Edmonton was trying to get Skinner off the ice for the extra attacker and somehow ended up with six players and the goaltender on the ice at the same time.

The bottom line is that Edmonton didn’t play as smart – or fast – of a game as Vegas. And the Golden Knights were hungrier in critical moments of the game.

The Oilers hadn’t lost in regulation since Mar. 11, so Wednesday’s game better be a wake up call. Because even though Vegas may not always play the perfect game, they find ways to win. Now it’s up to Edmonton to match or exceed the Golden Knights’ resiliency. Or else this series is going to be over quicker than most expected.

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The Edmonton Oilers can’t keep scoring their way out of trouble

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