Oilers score 4 unanswered to win Game 1 in Vegas

The Edmonton Oilers have won the first game of their series against the Vegas Golden Knights, scoring four unanswered to win 4-2.

The Oilers, who came back from 2-0 down, set an NHL record with their fifth consecutive playoff comeback victory.

Vegas, which had just seven shots on goal over the final two periods, lost a playoff game in regulation after leading by at least two goals for the first time. The Golden Knights are 47-4 overall in the postseason with that kind of lead.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Las Vegas.

William Karlsson opened the scoring for the Golden Knights, scoring on a power play opportunity 2:13 into the game. Vegas had a power play after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins high-sticked a Golden Knight player and was assessed a double minor.

Nearing the midway mark of the first, Mark Stone received a stretch pass from Jack Eichel and fired the puck by Calvin Pickard to make it 2-0.

Late in the first, Corey Perry got a pass from Connor McDavid and opted to walk the puck around Vegas goaltender Adin Hill, putting the Oilers on the board.

Looking to find an equalizer in the second period, the Oilers out shot the Golden Knights 12-1, however, neither team could find the back of the net in the period.

Leon Draisaitl evened the scoring 57 seconds into the third, backhanding a rebound off of Hill, who was sprawling, trying to catch the puck that floated over him. McDavid picked up his second assist of the night on the goal.

Zach Hyman was able to give the Oilers their first lead of the game and series, putting the puck off the post and in to make it 3-2.

A minute and 15 seconds later, Connor Brown doubled the Oilers’ lead, putting the puck past Hill on a breakaway.

Heading into Game 1

Oilers goalie Pickard was confirmed to start Game 1 of the second-round series Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights after Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch was cagey on the subject.

Pickard went 4-0 with a with 2.93 goals-against average and an .893 percentage after replacing Stuart Skinner with half a period remaining in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers trailed 2-0 in the series after that game.

While there seemed little reason for a goalie switch with the Oilers on a roll heading into the second round, Knoblauch didn’t confirm Pickard until the morning before Tuesday’s Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena.

“Right now, I guess our number one is the guy that gets a start, but that’s changing from game to game,” Knoblauch said. “We evaluate after every game and I know there’ll be a time when Stu’s back in that net, whether that’s Game 2, Game 4, next round, I don’t know. We’ve got two goalies that can win us games.

“I would like it not to change because most likely, Picks has put in a good game and we’ve won that game and we would continue the same process, but I think we’re comfortable with either goalie going in.”

The 33-year-old Pickard from Moncton started 31 games in the regular season behind Skinner’s 50. 

Pickard’s playoff experience before drawing into Round 1 was two starts and a chunk of a third period against Vancouver in the second round last year.

Pickard happened to play in Edmonton’s last regular-season game against Vegas on April 1, when Skinner was sidelined with a concussion. Pickard made 20 saves in a 3-2 win at T-Mobile, but Knoblauch downplayed any playoff advantage his starter might have.

“It’s not that Picks has a better view on their shooters, (or) the shooters have a better on him,” the coach said. “Everyone has their pre-scouts, know what they’re going to be looking for, whether from the Vegas standpoint, how they score their goals, how our goalie’s letting goals. Everyone’s doing their work.

“Maybe it allows him to feel a little more comfortable because he saw that team, but I think it’s minimal.”

The Vegas Golden Knights flipped between current starter Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit en route to winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. 

Both played in a six-game, second-round win over the Oilers that year. Brossoit was injured in Game 3 of that series, which Hill finished.

“I think 20 years ago it was all about one goaltender and it started to change a little bit,” Knoblauch said.  “Most teams are back and forth a little bit, and we’re obviously in that same situation. Last year we went to the Stanley Cup finals, Game 7, and we needed both goalies to get us there.”

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PENALTY KILL IMPROVEMENTS: Edmonton’s penalty kill went from giving up five power-play goals on the Kings’ first 10 chances to holding L.A. to 2-for-9 in four straight wins.

“We have confidence in our group,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “The first two games, they kind of dinged this up there, but we know that we can be a good PK and we understand how important special teams is in the playoffs. 

“It can win games, it can win series, so we take a lot of pride in it, and we’ll prepare for it.”

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NET-FRONT NEEDS: The Vegas Golden Knights play a heavy defensive game in front of their own net, so Oilers crease-crowder Corey Perry predicts he and other Edmonton forwards need to dig deep to get to the blue paint.

“They’re big, they’re strong, but we can move the puck and it’s just to see who has the will to go there and who has a fight to go there,” Perry said. “You’ve got to be willing to go because that’s where a lot of goals are scored in the playoffs.”

Edmonton scored 15 of its 27 goals in the first round from the slot or edge of the crease.