Leon Draisaitl scored four times for the Edmonton Oilers, but the Vegas Golden Knights silenced every other opponent en route to a 6-4 Game 1 victory.
Leon Draisaitl scored four times for the Edmonton Oilers, but the Vegas Golden Knights silenced every other opponent en route to a 6-4 Game 1 victory.
In their first-ever playoff matchup, the two best teams in the Western Conference came out ready to go in an offensive display, as the Vegas Golden Knights struck first with a 6-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
For the Oilers, it was the Leon Draisaitl show as he became the first Oiler to record a four-goal game in the post-season since Jari Kurri in 1987.
It came one day after Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski also hit four goals in a game, which is only the second time in NHL history that a player scored four times on consecutive days. John Tucker of the Buffalo Sabres and Tony Hrkac of the St. Louis Blues were the last to do it in April 1988.
As amazing as his night was, which also saw him score twice on the power play, he was the only Oiler to beat Laurent Brossoit. Other Oilers players came out flat in many parts of this game, and the forecheck of Vegas caused problems for Edmonton all night long.
Edmonton appeared to look good early, with Draisaitl opening the scoring 3:56 into the game. But the Golden Knights' pressure in Edmonton's end of the ice resulted in a Vincent Desharnais turnover, which led to Ivan Barbashaev's goal to tie the game up just 40 seconds later.
Vegas' pressure was the theme of the first period, as Michael Amadio and Mark Stone extended the Knights' lead to 3-1, but Draisiatl responded with his second of the game by banking in a shot off the back of Brossoit.
If you had Twitter open during the game, Draisaitl's bank-shot goal took over the timeline.
There was also concern for Edmonton's Mattias Janmark, who left for the dressing room after catching an edge and falling backward into the boards late in the first period. It was his first match back in the lineup after suffering an injury in Game 1 of the first round. Janmark was able to skate off the ice with help from Evander Kane and the training staff, but he would not return. There has yet to be an update on his status as of Thursday morning.
After a scoreless second stanza, Edmonton tied the game at 3-3 thanks to Draisaitl's hat-trick goal at the 1:35 mark in the third. Once again, however, Vegas and Barbashev replied quickly, striking 61 seconds later for his second of the night, and Chandler Stephenson added another a minute afterward. The Golden Knights were up by two again.
Draisaitl's fourth goal cut the lead to one at the 8:33 mark to keep Edmonton's comeback hopes alive, but even as the Oilers started to get more shots on Brossoit, it wasn't meant to be. Jack Eichel stole the puck from Connor McDavid and sealed the deal with an empty-net goal with under a minute left.
For Game 2, it's beyond obvious that Edmonton will need far more production from everyone else in the lineup. Most of the big guns were quiet as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane were held without a point in the series opener. The depth scoring, which was the story for the Oilers for much of their series against the Los Angeles Kings, was kept in check with zero points coming from the third or fourth lines.
Defensively, it was an awful night for the Oilers in front of Stuart Skinner as they struggled to adjust to the early pressure. However, Skinner would probably like back those second and third goals against. He finished the night with 28 saves on 33 shots and an .848 save percentage.
After a regular-season series that saw the Oilers win three of their four encounters, the Golden Knights had the first laugh in the playoffs. They'll look to go up 2-0 on Edmonton before things shift to Rogers Place.
For Edmonton, Game 1s haven't been kind to them as they've lost seven straight, but regardless, adjustments must be made to tie the series.
The puck drop for Game 2 on Saturday night is at 9 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena.