The Vegas Golden Knights won a very close game-five match against the Edmonton Oilers. As a result, they came into game six with a 3-2 series lead and a chance to clinch it.
The Oilers, of course, needed a big effort to force a game seven. The series saw the two teams rotate wins up to that point so the Oilers liked their chances as it felt like their turn to win.
Both teams are loaded with stars. The Connor McDavid vs Jack Eichel storyline has been mentioned a bunch and there are some other stars there as well.
Studs like Leon Draisaitl, Mark Stone, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jonathan Marchessault were amongst others were all needed as well.
Another note is that both Darnell Nurse and Alex Pietrangelo returned following the one-game suspensions that kept them out of game five. There is no doubt that both teams loved getting these super-important defensemen back.
The Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers were very entertaining.
The game started off as crazy as a game can start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Reilly Smith scored 24 seconds in to put the pressure on the Oilers.
Remarkably, it only took Connor McDavid 31 seconds to respond and get the score tied at one before the 1:00 mark.
The game went a whole minute and a half before another goal was scored. Warren Foegele scored at 2:43 to give the Edmonton Oilers their first lead if the game. Shockingly, that would be the last tally for a while.
It took over a whole period for Vegas to get the game tied up at two. Marchessault scored a natural hat trick in the second period to get Vegas out to a 4-2 advantage. His 3rd, 4th, and 5th goals of the playoffs were all just what the team needed in that moment.
William Karlsson threw one into the empty net while Edmonton was trying to tie it and that sealed the deal. Vegas took the game and the series.
This is a great thing for the Vegas Golden Knights. They have done nothing but be a winning franchise since coming into the league and now they are back in the Western Conference Final once again.
With some of the aforementioned stars that the Golden Knights have, you can’t help but be extremely happy for those guys as they deserve to be here in this good of a spot.
As for Edmonton, they will spend the entire off-season looking for answers. What is it that this explosive team needs to take that next step? That is for them to figure out and fast.
This was a wildly entertaining series because of the star power but the Golden Knights prevailed. It will be interesting to see now if they have what it takes to make it to the Stanley Cup Final.