The Golden Knights were the ones with the targets on their backs last season.
They were the defending Stanley Cup champions. They got opposing teams’ best shot every night. Now they’re facing an Edmonton Oilers team that’s dealt with similar pressure all year.
The Knights and the Oilers will meet in the second round of the playoffs for the second time in three seasons beginning with Tuesday’s Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena. Edmonton is the defending Western Conference champions and lost last year’s Stanley Cup Final in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers.
Both teams know what it’s like to be hunted. And both are hungry for another shot at hockey’s ultimate prize.
“Obviously, we all know what we’re playing for,” center Jack Eichel said. “It doesn’t matter who it is. You always want to win.”
Of course, only one team can advance to the Western Conference Final and fight for the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. The Knights topped the Oilers in six games two years ago. They know they’re in for another fight.
“It’s the Stanley Cup playoffs. We’re all playing for a very special trophy and we want to be the last team standing,” Eichel said. “This is our next task at hand, and you just want to take care of business and go from there.”
Testing the resiliency
The Oilers are plenty motivated as well after coming so close to a championship last year.
Edmonton, which lost the first three games of the Final, almost became the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup after trailing 3-0. The Oilers would have only been the fifth team in playoff history to overcome that deficit.
Edmonton enters the second round with plenty of confidence after eliminating the Los Angeles Kings for the fourth straight postseason. The Oilers lost the first two games of their first-round series, then won four in a row to advance.
“My guess is you could go to Game 7 and lose — and I’ve been there (in 2019) — that maybe you’re thinking ahead a little bit at the start of the playoffs. A lot of things could be going through their heads,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They obviously got dialed in and they’re playing at a high level.”
Not a lot of time
The Knights also overcame adversity in their first series. They trailed the Minnesota Wild 2-1 after three games but then won three straight.
The margin of error for both teams will be slimmer in the second round. The Knights and Oilers will play every other day, so there won’t be much practice time to fix issues between games.
Whichever team proves more adept at adapting on the fly could be the one that moves one step closer to lifting the Stanley Cup.
“This group is battle-tested. You shouldn’t expect anything to be easy in the playoffs,” right wing Reilly Smith said. “On paper, it’s a pretty similar series that it was two years ago. It was back-and-forth and it seemed like every game was a blowout. I wouldn’t expect that, but they have the ability to score so we have to make sure we’re making things difficult on them.”
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Oilers at Golden Knights
What: Game 1, second round
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: ESPN
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM/98.9 FM)
Line: Knights -132; total 6
Series schedule:
Game 1: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN)
Game 2: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN)
Game 3: Saturday at Rogers Place, TBD
Game 4: May 12 at Rogers Place, TBD
*Game 5: May 14 at T-Mobile Arena, TBD
*Game 6: May 16 at Rogers Place, TBD
*Game 7: May 18 at T-Mobile Arena, TBD
*if necessary
