Vegas advanced by defeating Minnesota in 6 games; Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles, also in 6
The Vegas Golden Knights will play the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Second Round.
The Golden Knights advanced by defeating the host Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Game 6 of the first round on Thursday. The Oilers eliminated the Los Angeles Kings with a 6-4 win in Game 6 on Thursday.
The Golden Knights, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division, will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series against the Oilers, who are the No. 3 seed.
Jack Eichel (one goal, four assists) and Tomas Hertl (three goals, two assists) led the Golden Knights in the first round with five points each. Mark Stone and Shea Theodore each had two goals and two assists, and Brett Howden scored three goals.
Adin Hill was 4-2 with a 2.83 goals-against average and .880 save percentage in six games, and Akira Schmid made nine saves in his lone appearance, in relief.
Connor McDavid (two goals, nine assists) led the Oilers in the first round with 11 points. Leon Draisaitl had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) and Evan Bouchardhad seven points (four goals, three assists).
Calvin Pickard, who took over as the starter for Game 3, was 4-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .893 save percentage in five games. Stuart Skinner was 0-2 with a 6.11 GAA and .810 save percentage, allowing 11 goals on 58 shots in two games.
The Golden Knights went 2-2-0 against the Oilers this season. Ivan Barbashev had five points (two goals, three assists), and Noah Hanifin (two goals, two assists) and Eichel (one goal, three assists) each had four points. Hill started each of the four games and was 2-2-0 with a 2.82 GAA, .901 save percentage and one shutout.
Draisaitl led the Oilers against the Golden Knights with four points (two goals, two assists). Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor Brown each had a goal and two assists, and Darnell Nurse had three assists. Zach Hyman scored two goals, and McDavid had one assist. Skinner was 1-2-0 with a 2.38 GAA and .924 save percentage in three games, and Pickard made 20 saves in his only appearance, starting in a 3-2 win on April 1.
Vegas and Edmonton have played once in the playoffs, with the Golden Knights winning in six games in the second round in 2023.
The Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup in 2023 but lost in the first round last season, have advanced to the second round five times in their eight NHL seasons.
The Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last season, losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 7.