Can The Golden Knights Catch The Oilers?
Currently, three points back with seven games left to play, can the Vegas Golden Knights catch the Edmonton Oilers and secure home-ice advantage in the first round?
Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports - Can The Golden Knights Catch The Oilers?Currently, three points back with seven games left to play, can the Vegas Golden Knights catch the Edmonton Oilers and secure home-ice advantage in the first round?
At one point in the season, the Golden Knights were safe and secure with the second spot in the Pacific division giving them home-ice advantage in the first round, but a horrid February and a terrible start to March coupled with an Oilers 16-game win streak saw the Oilers jump the Golden Knights in the standings. Thanks to a post trade deadline turnaround, the Golden Knights are now in striking distance and are threatening to take back that spot.
The Oilers clearly have the advantage. They are up by three points and have eight games to play but nothing is set in stone quite yet. The Oilers and Golden Knights will meet one more time this season and the winner of that game could decide who finishes with home-ice advantage. Half of the Oilers games are against teams in a playoff spot. They play the Colorado Avalanche twice and the Vancouver Canucks once. The other four games consist of the Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes twice.
The Golden Knights schedule is fairly similar. They play three playoff teams; the Oilers, Canucks and Avalanche. The four non-playoff teams are the Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks and the Coyotes.
Neither team has much of an advantage when it comes to strength of schedule. According to Tankathon, the Oilers have the 19th hardest schedule and the Golden Knights have the 24th.
Home-ice advantage can be crucial in a playoff series. The Golden Knights went 2-1 on home-ice against the Oilers in last years playoff series. In a series as closely contested as this one anticipates to be, every advantage is a crucial one.
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