The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-1 in Game 2, tying the series 1-1.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each had two goals. Evan Bouchard scored a goal and three assists. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists, while McDavid, Kailer Yamamoto and Zach Hyman also added an assist. Stuart Skinner stopped 30 shots.
Ivan Barbashev scored for the Golden Knights and Mark Stone got an assist on the play. Laurent Brossoit made 27 saves.
The Oilers started the game strong, quickly settling into the offensive zone and causing a penalty in front of Brossoit’s net.
Draisaitl, who scored all four goals in the Oilers’ 6-4 Game 1 loss, continued his momentum by scoring on the team’s only power-play shot.
Less than five minutes later, Bouchard also scored on the power play, giving the Oilers a 2-0 lead.
With 8:49 left in the first period, McDavid made it 3-0 when he outflanked defenseman Shea Theodore and let the puck slide past Brossoit, who was traveling to his right. It was the fourth playoff goal for the Oilers captain.
With 3:43 to go, Draisaitl scored his second goal of the match. Following a challenge from the Golden Knights, believing that there was obstruction on the goalkeeper on the sequence, the goal was allowed and the Oilers found themselves on the power play once again. However, they were unable to take advantage of it.
Draisaitl’s second goal of the game was also his 13th of the playoffs. Last year, Evander Kane and Nathan MacKinnon were the top two scorers in the 2022 playoffs, with 13 goals in 15 and 20 games played respectively. Draisaitl tied their tally in just seven games and one period.
The Oilers outshot the first period 19-4.
The Golden Knights had a few scoring chances midway through the second period, including a 2-on-1 overplay, but Skinner rose to hold the team’s four-goal lead.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long for the Golden Knights, as McDavid scored his second goal of the game with 8:17 left in the second period, making it 5-0.
Ivan Barbashev scored the first goal for the Golden Knights with 18:24 left in the third period, denying Skinner the shutout.
Frustration gripped the Golden Knights players late in the game, as Keegan Kolesar and Nicolas Hague each received a 10-minute penalty with 5:19 left in the game. Hague also received a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct during the scrum.
The third game of the series will be played Monday in Edmonton.