The Vegas Golden Knights were in a precarious position entering Game 2 of their best-of-seven second-round series against the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Vegas had a 2-0 lead in the first period in Game 1, but the Oilers slowly chipped away and broke a 2-2 tie in the third period in a 4-2 win earlier in the week.
The Golden Knights jumped out to the lead again in Game 2, with former Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson and team captain Jack Eichel teaming up on the power play for Olofsson’s first goal of the playoffs. Edmonton scored three straight goals and led 3-2 after two periods, and extended their lead with ex-Sabre Evander Kane scoring his third of the playoffs before the Golden Knights rallied to tie the game.
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Olofsson, who spent his first six seasons with Buffalo before signing a one-year, $1.075 million deal with the Golden Knights last summer, has always been effective on the power play, but saw his role diminish with the Sabres after scoring a career-high 28 goals in 2022-23. The Swedish winger scored his second on the power play and added an assist on Alex Pietrangelo’s tying marker.
In spite of the former Sabres combining for six points, Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead in the series heading back to Edmonton on Saturday.
Here is how the former Sabres did in the playoffs on Thursday:
William Carrier(CAR) 8:20 TOI, 1 SOG, 2 Hits
Eric Robinson(CAR) 6:58 TOI, 2 SOG
Taylor Hall(CAR) -1, 15:08 TOI, 1 SOG, 1 Hit
Mark Jankowski(CAR) Did Not Play
Evander Kane (EDM) 1G, +1, 21:10 TOI, 3 SOG, 5 Hits
Jeff Skinner(EDM) Did Not Play
Jack Eichel(VEG) 3A, 29:05 TOI, 3 SOG
Victor Olofsson(VEG) 2G, 1A, 19:35 TOI, 4 SOG, 1 Hit
Brayden McNabb(VEG) -2, 27:44 TOI, 4 Hits
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