The 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs have been unexpectedly more popular than expected. A regular juggernaut Boston Bruins and the defending champion Colorado Avalanche was eliminated in the first round. The last team to qualify for the playoffs — Florida Panthers — advanced to the Eastern Conference finals. The benefits of ice at home have been non-existent.
Next we have the Pacific Division bracket.
Seed number 1 Vegas Golden Knights and 2 seeds Edmonton Oilers they both took care of business in Round 1 and battled back and forth, the best in this round looking like the glorious Smythe Division shows the Oilers played in the 1980s – plus a healthy dose of physicality. aggressive, some of which led to his suspension. The news has been as big as expected.
But there has to be a winner, and a win in Game 6 tonight (10 ET, ESPN), the Golden Knights can prove to be them. The Oilers stand their ground and are determined not to go down without a fight – figuratively and maybe literally.
Before these two teams take the ice at Rogers Place, let’s get you up to speed. We’ve put together a guide to what to watch for each team, including in-depth ESPN Stats & Information.
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Comments from ESPN Stats & Information
Oil
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Like the Golden Knights, the Oilers have been a successful team on the road in games they’ve lost. Edmonton has yet to lose a postseason game, going 4-0 and adding 4.5 goals per game following a loss in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. Connor McDavid (two goals, seven assists) and Leon Draisaitl (five goals, four assists) lead the game with nine points each.
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Among skaters to appear in at least 10 playoff games, Draisaitl (1.60) and McDavid (1.54) are third and fourth, respectively, in any game in postseason history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (1.84) and Mario Lemieux (1.61).
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Speaking of Gretzky and Lemieux, McDavid joined them as the only three players in sports history to record 70 goals and 100 assists in the same season (including playoffs). Gretzky did it four times (last in 1984-85 with the Oilers) and Lemieux did it three times (last in 1995-96 with the Penguins).
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The Oilers’ three goals in Game 5 each scored on the power play, giving Edmonton 18 in the playoffs so far (18-for-38, 47.4%). That’s the most goals by any team in the first 11 games of a playoff year since the Avalanche had 19 in 1997. The only time an Oilers team has registered 18 power play goals in the first 11 playoff games. The year was 1988, which was Wayne Gretzky’s last Stanley Cup victory in his career as Edmonton dropped just two games on the way to the title (16-2).
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Of the five NHL skaters with at least eight power-play points this season, four are from the Oilers — but the top skater isn’t who you might think. The protector Evan Bouchard He has four goals and 11 assists in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, ahead of McDavid (12 games), Draisaitl (eight games) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (eight power plays). Bouchard’s 15 power plays are tied with Denis Potvin (1981 with the Islanders) for third most by a defenseman in a single season. That trails only Al MacInnis (Flames), who had 23 in 1989, and Ray Bourque (Bruins), who had 17 in 1991.
Golden Knights
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Jack Eichel, getting his first taste of the postseason, pushed his point total in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs to 13 (six goals and seven assists), the most points for a Golden Knights skater through 10 games of the playoff campaign. The only player to produce more points in their first 10 playoff games than Eichel is Boston To David Pastr (15), Colorado Nathan MacKinnon (15), Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (15) and Florida Eric Steele (14) – who scored those points for the Hurricanes in 2006.
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With their win in Game 5, the Golden Knights improved to 45-31 (.592) in postseason play all-time, the best winning percentage in Stanley Cup playoff history. The only franchises with 45 playoff wins in fewer games than the Golden Knights (76) and Oilers (67) are New York Islanders (75).
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Game 5 was a microcosm of the Golden Knights’ playoff year, as Vegas won the game in the second quarter. The Golden Knights outscored the Jets (first line) and Oilers (second line) by 11 goals in the middle of the frame (16-5), the largest single-season margin for any team in the postseason.
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Vegas was the most disciplined team in the NHL during the regular season (3:46 less time on ice per game, the only team with less than four minutes) but has been poorly coached in the first five games of this series, taking the NHL by storm. -41 penalties in the second half.
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The Golden Knights won the Pacific Division in the regular season despite ranking outside the top 10 in goals per game (14) and goals allowed per game (11). It is worth noting that no team that has won the Stanley Cup in the same season has been ranked outside the NHL’s top 10 in both goals scored and goals allowed.