The Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights have a growing playoff history. The two Pacific Division heavyweights clashed in Round 2 back in 2023, with Vegas taking the series in six games, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.
Game 1 delivered exactly the kind of battle everyone expected, but the Oilers struck first, earning a 4–2 win behind Zach Hyman’s game-winning goal in the third period.
Related: Golden Knights & Oilers Meet Again in the Playoffs: What’s Changed Since 2023?
Once again, the Oilers played from behind and found a way back tonight against Vegas. Down 2–1 entering the third, Edmonton rallied to take Game 1, taking a 1-0 series lead. With all that said, here’s how Game 1 unfolded.
Game Recap
Vegas came out buzzing in the offensive zone, with the first line picking up right where they left off in Round 1. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and William Karlsson were a constant threat every time they hit the ice, continuing their late-series surge against the Minnesota Wild.
Vegas capitalized on a double-minor against the Oilers, with Mark Stone tipping in a Shea Theodore point shot to open the scoring. With traffic clogging the crease in front of Calvin Pickard, Stone’s redirection found the back of the net, giving the Golden Knights an early 1-0 lead.
Shortly after, it was Stone again who scored his fourth of the playoffs to give the Golden Knights the 2-0 lead. Corey Perry would then put the Oilers on the board after he was set up nicely by Connor McDavid to make it 2-1.
The second period featured plenty of back-and-forth action, with both teams trading chances but failing to find the net. That changed early in the third when Leon Draisaitl batted a puck out of midair like a baseball, tying the game 2-2 and swinging momentum back to Edmonton.
With the game seemingly looking like it’ll go to overtime, Hyman scored to give Edmonton the 3-2 lead, and then Connor Brown made it 4-2 to close the game out on a breakaway.
The Golden Knights will look to bounce back Thursday night at 6:30 PDT, while the Oilers will be looking to take a 2-0 lead and win their fifth in a row.
