Edmonton Oilers: Strong Defense & Resilient Goaltending

The Oilers’ Journey to the Western Conference Final

The Edmonton Oilers can score goals. They have stars like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But winning the Stanley Cup has been tough. Their defense and goaltending have often let them down.

Improved Defense

Things are different now. The Oilers are ready for the Western Conference final. They just finished their second-round playoff series. They shut out the Golden Knights in the last six periods of regulation and 7:14 of overtime. They won the series in five games.

The Golden Knights had a strong regular season. They scored 3.34 goals per game. But they struggled to score in the last two games against the Oilers. They had only 15 high-danger chances and 37 scoring chances in those games.

Darnell Nurse, an Oilers defenseman, said, “We focused on not giving up odd-man rushes. Vegas is good at capitalizing on defensive turnovers. We made sure to keep five guys between our net and the puck. We also got above their good-skating defensemen.”

He added, “We made a conscious effort to get pucks deep. We played a simple game and built off that.”

Resilient Goaltending

This strong defense has helped goalie Stuart Skinner. He had a tough start to the playoffs. He was benched after allowing 11 goals in the first two games against Los Angeles.

Calvin Pickard took over. He helped the Oilers win six straight games. They eliminated the Kings and took early control against the Golden Knights. But Pickard got injured in Game 2 of the Vegas series. Skinner returned to the net.

Skinner struggled in Game 3. He allowed four goals and had an .833 save percentage. The Golden Knights won their only game with a goal by Reilly Smith with just .4 seconds left.

But the Golden Knights didn’t get many chances after that. The Oilers’ defense disrupted their offensive zone entries and limited their space to operate.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said, “We defended well in front of Skinner the last two nights. It wasn’t perfect, and there were some chances. But he came up big the last two nights.”

McDavid added, “Hopefully, this shuts a lot of people up talking about him.”

Looking Ahead

Skinner or Pickard, if he’s back, will face a tough test in the next series. They’ll go against an elite goalie, either Jake Oettinger of the Stars or Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets.

Skinner said, “Being able to come back in no matter what the scenario was and being able to have the resiliency in me is something I can be proud of. So much of it has to do with how the guys are playing in front of me. The way they’ve played ever since I’ve come back in is impressive.”

Revenge Against the Golden Knights

Beating Vegas was also about revenge. The Golden Knights have become one of the Oilers’ top rivals in the Western Conference.

Two years ago, the Golden Knights kept the Oilers from getting out of the second round. They went on to win the Stanley Cup. Last year, the Oilers made it to the final but lost in seven games to Florida. They didn’t have to face the Golden Knights.

This time, Edmonton did and won in commanding fashion.

McDavid said, “There’s probably a lot of people that thought it was going to go longer than five games and probably not a lot of people that thought we would win. It’s nice to keep on rolling, to keep on proving people wrong. We’ve got a lot of belief in this room. It’s fun to be part of.”

Key Takeaways

• The Oilers have improved their defense and goaltending.
• They shut out the Golden Knights in the last six periods of regulation and 7:14 of overtime.
• Stuart Skinner has shown resilience after a tough start to the playoffs.
• Beating Vegas was also about revenge for the Oilers.

For more on the NHL playoffs, visit AP News Stanley Cup and AP News NHL.