Collective against superstars. That’s how the series between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers could be described on paper, at least as far as the offense is concerned. In match number three, the team clearly drew the longer straw.
In sports, most things are open, in ice hockey right up to the final whistle – and especially when it comes to the NHL playoffs where anything can happen.
At the time of writing, it looks (but it could very well end the other way) that it will be the Seattle Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights who will settle for the Stanley Cup Finals spot from the Western Conference. There are hardly many who would have believed that, right? Not least considering that the Kraken (started in 2021) and the Golden Knights (started in 2017) are the NHL’s two newest teams.
Dare to say that it takes a fairly die-hard NHL fan to be able to count many players from the two clubs.
Relative anonymity was of little concern to Vegas as the team defeated a star-studded Edmonton Oilers 5-1 on the road. And the Seattle Kraken didn’t care about that either when they first eliminated the reigning Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche and now lead the Finnish team Dallas Stars 2-1 in games.
2-1 in games it is now also between Vegas and Edmonton where Jonathan Marchessault (2+0) and Jack Eichel (1+2) accounted for the main point production.
The Oilers opened the scoring through Warren Foegele who scored his first goal in the playoffs of the year. Then the Vegas goaltenders nailed it again, and the team’s fix stars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid saw their streaks snapped: Draisaitl’s five-game scoring streak and McDavid’s six-game streak of at least two points per game.
Marchessault’s two goals meant he became the fourth Vegas player to reach the 50-point mark in the playoffs: the other three are teammates William Karlsson, Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore.
The next game will be played on Wednesday in Edmonton.
Heiskanen ”day-to day”
At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Miro Heiskanen can play in Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. The Dallas Stars are in great need of the 23-year-old successful back who both plays and produces most of the team’s backs.
– We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. 24 hours plays a big role in situations like this, team head coach Peter DeBoer said Monday, according to the NHL website.
Heiskanen injured his face in the previous game against Seattle when a hard shot hit a teammate’s stick and the puck went up in his face.
– He is an important piece for us and I hope he is okay. But it’s brutal, you don’t want that to happen to anyone, especially not a teammate, said forward Mason Marchment.
DeBoer knows and acknowledges Heiskanen’s importance to the team’s success.
– You can’t replace a guy like that, can you? In our team, he is quite unique with the strengths he possesses. We don’t have three or four other guys like him, no club in the NHL does. He is a player who dares to play under pressure to create attacks.
Video material from Viaplay.
