Starting Over: Oilers, Golden Knights All Tied Up

Good morning and happy Thursday, May 11th.

Most of our crystal balls were off as 68.4% of yesterday’s poll participants predicted the Panthers would sweep the Leafs last night. Fortunately, you have today’s poll to redeem yourselves!

Today’s lineup:

• Oilers win, now a best-of-three series with Vegas

• Joseph Woll keeps Leafs alive

• NHL announces Ted Lindsay award finalist

• And more… 👇

The team that produces offense draws headlines and the tea/m that only gives up one goal wins NHL playoff games.

The Edmonton Oilers showed again Wednesday they can score and prevent goals with a series-tying 4-1 triumph against the Vegas Golden Knights. Their best-of-seven second round series is tied 2-2 going into Friday’s Game 5 in Las Vegas.

In this series, the Oilers have surrendered 11 goals in their two losses and two goals in their two victories.

On Monday, Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was pulled just past the halfway point in the game after giving up four goals on 23 shots. On Wednesday, he posted 25 saves for his fifth win of this postseason. He needs one more to break Andy Moog’s team record for playoff wins by a rookie.

Edmonton’s power play is the team’s most dangerous weapon. Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Co. boast a 45.7% power play efficiency in this postseason.

But the Oilers’ five-on-five play has betrayed them. The Golden Knights had outscored Edmonton 10-4 at even-strength in the first three games of the series.

In Game 4, the Oilers were the better team at even-strength and all other facets of the game.

The game featured ugliness near the end when Vegas top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo took a two-hand slash to Leon Draisaitl. He received a five-minute major. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety undoubtedly will review that.

Also, Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse could be looking at a possible suspension for an instigator penalty in the last five minutes of a game. He fought with Nicholas Hague.

🧱 Joseph Woll makes 24 saves as Leafs stay alive with 2-1 win over the Panthers. In his first NHL postseason start the 24-year-old netminder was calm and collected, recording a .960 save percentage while only allowing a 3rd period Sam Reinhart power play goal to barely squeak through. William Nylander got the Leafs on the board just over three minutes into the 2nd thanks to a fortuitous bounce off the ref and Mitch Marner put Toronto up 2-0 midway through the 3rd with a wrister through traffic, which proved to be the game-winner. Toronto is looking to become just the fifth team in NHL history to climb out of a 3-0 hole.

🏆 Karlsson, McDavid, and Pastrnak named Ted Lindsay finalists. The trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players' Association.

• Erik Karlsson collected 101 points, becoming just the 6th defenseman in NHL history to hit the century mark. He is the 8th player in the NHL expansion era (since 1967-68) to outright lead defensemen in goals, assists and points in a season and set an NHL record for defensemen, topping Bobby Orr, by factoring on 43.35 percent of San Jose's goals this season.

• Connor McDavid led the NHL in scoring for the 3rd straight season with 153 points in 82 games, the 15th-highest total in a single season. He became the 5th different player to lead the League in each scoring category in a season.

• David Pastrnak finished 2nd in the NHL with 61 goals in 82 games, tied Nikita Kucherov for 3rd in points (113) and set career highs in goals, assists (52), points, plus-minus rating (plus-34), game-winning goals (13) and shots on goal (407). He had nine games with at least three points this season was and tied for 2nd in the League with three hat tricks.

Vegas Golden Knights’ social media manager has no chill 🤣

As of this morning, who leads this postseason in penalty minutes?

• Connor McDavid says Alex Pietrangelo's slash on Leon Draisaitl was 'intent to injure'

• What sets Edmonton's freakishly good power play apart from all others

• Hurricanes focus on victory in Game 5 to eliminate Devils, not Cup chase

• Kraken hoping healthy McCann can regain form in Game 5 of West 2nd Round

• Top-prospect Bedard named WHL Player of the Year

• Adam Fantilli would be no consolation prize for the Anaheim Ducks

• Why Reynolds, Snoop Dogg, other celebrities want to buy the Senators

• Toronto Six re-sign captain Shiann Darkangelo to two-year contract

• Study: NHL tough guys die 10 years younger than their fellow players

• Bruins 'won't be same team' next season after losing in East 1st Round

• 🎯 Nicolas Roy fights off cross check before sniping high glove

• 🚦 Mitch Marner scores game-winner through traffic

• 🔫 Mattias Ekholm with a laser after Stone is denied at other end

• 💥 Radko Gudas levels David Kampf, scrum ensues

• 🥊 Darnell Nurse & Nicolas Hague exchange haymakers at end of game 4

• Two drills to work on shooting off the pass

• Blue line fakes for D to get pucks to the net

TRIVIA ANSWER

As of the morning of May 11th, Edmonton’s Evander Kane leads the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 46 PIMS… Florida’s Sam Bennett and Dallas’ Max Domi aren’t far behind.