How the Vegas Golden Knights present a new challenge for the Edmonton Oilers as they prepare for Round 2

After winning four straight and defeating the Los Angeles Kings in six games to close the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers are headed to Sin City. There, they will meet the Vegas Golden Knights in a showdown for the division crown and look to punch a ticket to the Western Conference Final.

The last time these two clubs faced off was in 2023, when Edmonton lost to Vegas in six games and suffered their first taste of defeat as a true contender. As Connor McDavid said post-game on Thursday night, “We owe Vegas a good series. We don’t forget what happened two years ago.” This is the first time that the McDavid-led Oilers will face a team that has eliminated them previously, and it will be interesting to see how they play with a chip on their shoulder.

As we await the opener on Tuesday night, let’s take a deeper dive into how this series will be different from Round 1 and the unique challenges the Golden Knights will present.

Four lines and three pairs deep

Vegas’ ability to roll forward lines is a hallmark of their game and a major challenge for their opponents. Unlike the Los Angeles Kings, whose fourth line saw an average of less than five minutes of ice time per game, the lowest ATOI on the Knights in Round 1 was 7:49 (recorded by Tanner Pearson), while every other skater averaged at least 10 minutes. In their current configuration, Vegas’ bottom-six is comprised of Ivan Barbashev and Brett Howden, both of whom recorded 23 goals in the regular season and finished top-five in team scoring.

With the emergence of Trent Frederic and Evander Kane, along with playoff Mattias Janmark and playoff Connor Brown, Edmonton’s depth has been nothing to scoff at, but they will face much tougher competition in this series and need to be prepared for a bottom-six that contributes heavily on both ends of the ice.

Similarly, Vegas has an extremely deep defensive corps, comprised of Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore, Nicolas Hague, Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin, and Zach Whitecloud. While the Kings relied heavily on their top-four (Mikey Anderson, Drew Doughty, Joel Edmundson, and Vladislav Gavrikov), Vegas has spread minutes across each pair quite evenly, with each skater ranging between 16 and 23 minutes per game. Edmonton cannot afford to get off to a poor start against Vegas—with such an equitable distribution of ice time, they will not be able to rely on wearing out their opponent’s stamina as the series progresses.

Rush chances and a strong forecheck

Unlike Los Angeles, who employed a fairly passive-yet-opportunistic system, Vegas is a team that pressures their opponents when they are in the offensive zone and pounces on turnovers. This will especially be a challenge for some of Edmonton’s more passive defenders, including John Klingberg and Evan Bouchard.

Fortunately, Edmonton’s defence is fairly capable at breakouts, and should be able to get the puck up to the forwards in favourable situations if they are able to make quick decisions under pressure. As we saw against the Florida Panthers last year, an over-aggressive forecheck can lead to odd-man breaks the other way if defended properly, and Edmonton should aim to capitalize on these opportunities.

Another difference between Vegas and Los Angeles is that the Golden Knights’ defencemen are empowered to frequently activate off the rush. If the Oilers’ defencemen make a poor pinch or do not receive adequate support from the forwards, be prepared to see plenty of fast breaks for the Golden Knights.

Calvin Pickard has been quite adequate at making saves when Edmonton has given up odd-man rushes in these playoffs (especially in Game 6 against L.A.), but Vegas has much better finishing potential and will likely convert if they have a clear shot on goal. Should Stuart Skinner enter the series for any reason, the Oilers will need to be even more careful when pinching or making line changes, as he has traditionally struggled when facing rush changes against.

Special teams will need to be special

The Vegas Golden Knights power play finished the 2024–25 season with a power play percentage of 28.3%, which was good for second in the NHL. Similarly, although their penalty kill rate was ranked 26th in the league, their 41 goals allowed when shorthanded tied them for fifth fewest in the NHL. This is mainly due to their ability to stay out of the box. In fact, this year, the Knights recorded the fewest penalty minutes in the history of the modern NHL.

The efficiency of both clubs’ special teams hasn’t necessarily translated to the playoffs; Edmonton’s power play has been stronger than Vegas (38.5% versus 27.8%) while their penalty kill has been weaker (60.0% versus 76.9%). However, what has continued in the postseason is Vegas’ knack for not taking penalties—of the 16 teams that played in Round 1, only the Knights had fewer penalty minutes taken per 60 than the Kings. The Kings and Knights were also ranked first and second for share of penalty minutes taken (i.e. penalty minutes taken vs opposition penalty minutes taken), while the Oilers were ranked dead last.

Edmonton will need to do their best to keep the play between whistles and stay out of the penalty box. They took quite a few unnecessary penalties against Los Angeles which led to goals against and this is not a recipe for success against a veteran Knights group that receives favourable officiating.

In what areas is Vegas weaker than LA..?

Most of what has been written so far has focused on what Vegas does better than Los Angeles, but the Knights have their own weaknesses that the Oilers can look to exploit.

Strength of goaltending

The biggest difference between Vegas and L.A. is between the pipes. The Kings were benefactors of a Vezina-level performance from Darcy Kuemper in the 2024–25 regular season, while the Golden Knights saw an adequate, but all-in-all fairly average performance from Adin Hill through the year.

The Oilers historically have had a knack for figuring out goaltenders in the playoffs as their series progresses, but there’s no reason for them to enter Round 2 being worried about the Knights’ netminding. Hill currently ranks 22nd in Goals Saved Above Expected in the playoffs at -2.0, while Calvin Pickard enters Round 2 with a -0.9 (per MoneyPuck). Hill also has a .880 save percentage, while Pickard is rocking a .893 (Kuemper bowed out of the playoffs with a .889).

End-of-season-momentum

Heading into the postseason, the Los Angeles Kings had a record of 8–2–0 in their final 10 games. During this stretch, they scored 43 goals and allowed 21 (net +22 goal differential), while operating with a power play and penalty kill rate of 26.3% and 82.8% respectively. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights had a 6–2–2 record in their final 10 games, scoring 28 goals and allowing 23 (net +5 goal differential), while employing a 10.5% power play efficiency rate and 73.9% penalty kill rate.

In most facets of the game, Los Angeles was peaking at the right time heading into the playoffs, carrying sizeable confidence and momentum heading into Round 1. Alternatively, the Oilers, who saw players shuffle in and out of the lineup down the stretch run of the regular season, were not able to establish solid chemistry and only began turning it up after getting a few games under their belt. That being said, it is unlikely the Oilers will have a similarly slow start against Vegas — both teams have had time to adjust to playoff action and both teams will be facing off against each other with a 4–2 record.

Team speed

Per NHL Edge, here is how Vegas and Los Angeles compare in a few key categories (2024–25 playoffs only).

Most of the categories above do not reveal much, as many of the statistics are opponent-dependent, but one area to highlight is speed. From both a top skating speed and speed bursts over 20 mph perspective, the Knights have shown to be a slower team than the Kings thus far.

If the Oilers employ a strong and relentless forecheck in the offensive zone, speedy forwards like Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark, Vasiliy Podkolzin, and of course, Connor McDavid, should be able to take advantage by causing chaos and creating sustained offensive zone time. Similarly, as Vegas tries to beat the Oilers defencemen wide off the rush, with strong positioning and gap control, Edmonton should be able to prevent their opposition from penetrating the centre of the ice.

An extremely exciting series to come from these two teams

Although there are many differences between how the Kings and Knights play, they are ultimately both strong opponents and have presented unique challenges for Edmonton over the years.

Against Los Angeles, Edmonton had the mental edge and knew that they were never truly out of the game. Do the Knights have a similar advantage over Edmonton after eliminating them two years ago? Or will last year’s experience help the Oilers find a new level against their division rivals?

Time will tell, but I’m expecting a strong, competitive series with the good guys ultimately coming out on top in seven games.