Despite An Ongoing Goalie Curse, The Golden Knights Crushed The Oilers In Edmonton And This Series Is Getting Really Spicy
The absolute war being waged between these two teams' chief tweeters is a compelling battle in and of itself.
Once Edmonton shot out to a huge lead in Game 2, though, the Golden Knights got frustrated to the point where multiple times both sides were beating the ever-living shit out of each other.
Key quote from the above brawling breakdown from yours truly:
"Unclear if the Oilers are now rent-free in Vegas' heads with the series headed back to Edmonton or if this is the type of shit that'll fire the Knights up to rally back and steal Game 3 on the road. Could really go either way."
On a quick-hitter blog from Game 1 when Leon Draisaitl scored a seemingly impossible-angle short-side goal, I mentioned something pretty key that came to pass on Monday night:
"It'll take more than well wishing for Edmonton to advance, though. Stealing one of the next two matchups on the road would be huge, as the Golden Knights had an NHL-low seven losses in regulation away from home."
WELP. Now you see that this Vegas club is, indeed, made up of a deep, dynamic bunch of Mad Max road warriors who couldn't care less about any adversity that comes their way. They laugh in the face of it.
Look no further than tonight. A 5-1 rout. You saw the headline. They traded for Kings legendary goaltender Jonathan Quick because their usual starter Logan Thompson was (still is) out of action. Quick is third on the depth chart even with his legendary postseason resume. If I were the Golden Knights, I would've been tempted to thrust him into the lineup once this happened to Laurent Brossoit:
…Especially considering Aidin Hill just made his postseason debut in the aforementioned Game 2 during garbage time. The Knights rolled with the less-experienced Hill. It totally paid off. Kept Edmonton's high-octane offense led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoreboard for the whole evening.
Dude can even mix it up when someone comes crashing into the crease uninvited:
So it's not like Hill is some scrub. He did have the second-most regular-season starts for Vegas (25) behind Thompson (36) and ahead of Brossoit (10), Quick (9), and Jiri Patera (2). Like I said…a rather cursed situation. Still, Hill couldn't have been put in a much tougher spot than Hill was and he played like a veteran, championship-caliber backstop. Impressive. Most impressive.
Edmonton got on the board first, but the Golden Knights roared back with five unanswered and now have wrested home-ice advantage back in their favor already. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice for the victors, while Jack Eichel earned top-star honors with a three-point performance and a second-period goal.
Safe to say Eichel is pleased with the personal power play he deployed to force his way out of Buffalo. Crushing in his first run through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Loving this series so far. A high-scoring, 6-4 win for Vegas in the opener, followed by a trade-off of haymakers (literally and figuratively) over the last two duels. Game 4 is going to be a crazy scene at Rogers Place. Hoping to see this thing go the distance. Seven games. Give it to us!!
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok