The Edmonton Oilers skated to a 5-4 overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs second round on Thursday (May 8) at T-Mobile Arena. Edmonton now leads the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl scored at 15:20 of sudden death, while Evander Kane, Darnell Nurse, Vasily Podkolzin and Jake Walman had one goal for Edmonton. Victor Olofsson scored twice for the Golden Knights, who also got goals from William Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo.
Edmonton netminder Calvin Pickard stopped 28 shots in a winning effort. Adin Hill made 32 saves between the pipes for the Golden Knights.
After trailing 1-0 in the first period, Edmonton went ahead by two goals, 4-2, in the third period before Vegas scored twice to force overtime.
This was Edmonton’s sixth consecutive comeback victory, which is a Stanley Cup Playoffs record, and one shy of the longest such streak in NHL regular season or postseason history.
Depth Contributors Lead Oilers Again
Edmonton’s superstar forwards Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were each held pointless in regulation on Thursday, before McDavid made an incredible deke to get around Jack Eichel and fed Draisaitl for the winning goal in sudden death.
Otherwise, it was the supporting cast stepping up once again for the Oilers, who continue to get goals from unlikely sources: Podkolzin and Walman each scored their first playoff goal as a member of the Oilers, while Nurse tallied for just the second time this postseason. Kane’s goal was his third of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Through Edmonton’s first eight games this postseason, 15 different players have scored at least once, including 10 who have two or more goals. When the Oilers scored six times in Game 6 of Round 1 against the Los Angeles Kings, Draisaitl and McDavid had just one point between them.
MCDAVID TO DRAISAITL 🚨
— NHL (@NHL) May 9, 2025
Connor McDavid makes a beautiful move to set up Leon Draisaitl for the @Energizer overtime winner in Game 2! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/DkMXp2kuhw
Thursday’s tilt wasn’t the strongest performance from either member of Edmonton’s Dynamic Duo, and they were their own toughest critics.
“Not our best, not my best, but we found a way. That’s what we get paid to do. Paid to score goals in big moments, and we found a way to win,” McDavid said, as Edmonton’s players spoke to media following the game.
“We didn’t have much going on,” said Draisaitl, who praised Corey Perry for the veteran forward’s play leading to the winning goal. “Obviously a couple great plays, and then it’s just all-world (by McDavid). It’s tough to even celebrate my part of the goal.”
Oilers Lucky to Escape With Win
Edmonton was outplayed at the start of overtime, with Vegas outshooting the Oilers 6-1 over the first five minutes of sudden death. It was looking like just a matter of time before Vegas would score, when Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy took a five-minute penalty for cross-checking Edmonton’s Trent Frederic at 5:47. The Oilers fired seven shots on Hill during their five-minute man advantage but couldn’t capitalize on a glorious opportunity to end the game.
Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Hub
At 15:03, Edmonton’s Viktor Arvidsson tripped Vegas defenceman Brayden McNab, who was sent crashing into the boards and left writhing on the ice in pain. While Arvidsson’s actions clearly merited a penalty, none was called. Only 17 seconds later, Draisaitl scored the winning goal.
After surviving an early Vegas onslaught, failing to convert on a five-minute man advantage, and avoiding a penalty that could have spelled doom, the Oilers somehow managed to escape overtime with a victory. Sometimes they’re with you, sometimes they’re against you; on this night, the hockey gods were on Edmonton’s side.
Pickard Shuts the Door in OT
If it wasn’t for Pickard, overtime wouldn’t have lasted long enough for Draisaitl’s heroics. The Oilers goalie came up with some big saves while Vegas was buzzing around his net early in the extra period.
Pickard continues to remind in some respects of Oilers legend Grant Fuhr, who backstopped the run-and-gun Oilers to four Stanley Cups in the 1980s. Like Fuhr, Pickard gives up his share of goals but never gives up the goal that beats his team: Over his six starts this postseason, Pickard has a save percentage (SV%) of .853 in the first two periods combined, and .958 in the third period and overtime combined.
This was already Pickard’s third win this postseason when he gives up at least four goals. That’s the most by an Oilers netminder in a single playoff year since Bill Ranford in 1990, when Edmonton won its last championship.
The Oilers now have a chance to close out the series on home ice, with the next two games happening at Rogers Place. Edmonton and Vegas will face off in Game 3 on Saturday night.
