Once again; people should not take the Vegas Golden Knights lightly. Vegas came out swinging hard in the first period and immediately put the Oilers on their heels. The only thing Edmonton had going for themselves early on was their powerplay which remained as threatening as it was in the first series against the Kings.

High Danger Chances were 4-1 for Vegas in the first period and the Oilers were reeling after the first period and looked like they were dead in the water until Draisaitl scored his second of the game in the final ten seconds of the first period.

Let's talk about Draisaitl for a moment because he was the one bright spot of the game. Draisaitl scored all 4 of the Oilers goals; two on the powerplay and two at even strength. He was the most dangerous player on the ice for either team and has officially becoming the highest scoring player in the first seven games of the playoffs in NHL history. Playoff Draisaitl is a force to be reckoned with.

That is the good news. Despite playing easily their worst game of the playoffs, the Oilers were only one goal short of tying the game (prior to the empty net goal). If the Oilers bottom six or other line could have gotten one more goal suddenly this could have gone to OT and the Oilers could have stolen a win.

Coulda woulda shoulda, that isn't what happened and there were some pretty concerning things to look at in this game.

First of all I think it is time to sit Vincent Desharnais. Here is a great tweet from Woodguy on the Oilers save percentage with and without Desharnais on the ice:

Re: Skinner

In 7 playoff games his All Situations SV% is .883

Desharnais Off Ice: .918
Desharnais On Ice: .750

I'd try a few games without Desharnais before thinking about making a switch https://t.co/FwtlAYMiN9

— Woodguy (@Woodguy55) May 4, 2023

I noted prior to this series beginning that I worried that Desharnais would struggle against a more aggressive, faster lineup and that was clearly the case in Game 1. The rookie big defender got burned multiple times in the game and directly responsible for two goals against. Broberg is a more untested commodity but his skating and puck handling ability is vastly superior. I would role a 12/6 lineup again with Broberg alongside Kulak.

On Stuart Skinner; it was an ugly start for the netminder but again the Oilers came out so flat I find it hard to fault him completely. Specifically in the second period Skinner did a strong job at holding things down and keeping it a one goal game. I don't think we need to be talking about starting Campbell yet.

I do think that Woodcroft needs to split McDavid and Draisaitl. The line was effective against the Golden Knights but left the second line looking pretty rudderless. Leon, Connor, and Zach Hyman went 2-0 at 5 on 5 and 8-4 in scoring chances but the second line of RNH, Kane, and Yamamoto went 1-1 in scoring chances. There needs to be a push somewhere in the lineup.

Here is what I would look to run in the next game:

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Kane-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Foegle-McLeod-Ryan
Kostin-Bjugstad-Holloway

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Ceci
Broberg-Kulak

Skinner

Nugent-Hopkins has been a complete non-factor at even strength so far and it's really starting to become an issue. Kane, Hyman, Yamamoto and RNH have all had their struggles in these playoffs but the first three players have at least each had a game where they have made a real positive impact by scoring a timely goal. We haven't seen anything like that from Nuge yet. Pair RNH with McDavid and see if that can help spark some of his better shooting instincts again.

I would also like to see Holloway get into some game action in a limited role. Again, Vegas is a fast and aggressive team and I think Holloway in a bottom six role gives the Oilers a different look and a player that the Vegas coaching staff won't have too much info on. That is a fourth line that could cause some havoc in the Golden Knights end.

The other positive note on that game was that the Oilers started to figure things out and were matching the Golden Knights pretty well in the third period in terms of chances for and against. The two goals against that made the game 5-3 was a series of unforced turnovers and a lack of urgency in their own end. Edmonton was playing very much like they did against the Kings, playing under the assumption that their opponent was playing a rigid system. That is not how Vegas plays and the Oilers were slow to react to those changes in pace. That is something the team needs to be better at in Game 2.

Once again here we are with the Oilers down 0-1 in a playoff series. The good news is that we have seen this team come back from that deficit multiple times in the last couple seasons. Just because they have doesn't mean they will though unless they put in the hard work.

Edmonton wasted a brilliant 4 goal performance from Draisaitl. The rest of the team needs to step up and play at a far more urgent and higher level of play. If they can do that, Brossoit has been shown to be very beatable. If the Oilers come out playing their best level of hockey they have a good chance at returning to Edmonton with this series tied.

Thanks for reading!

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