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G76: Golden Knights @ Oilers - Beat Them to Never Play Them Again |
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According to DailyFaceoff, here are the line combinations that Vegas will likely roll today against the Edmonton Oilers:
Dadonov-Eichel-Roy
Pacioretty-Stephenson-Stone
Marchessault-Karlsson-Amadio
Janmark-Leschysnyn-Kolesar
McNabb-Theodore
Hutton-Pietrangelo
Martinez-Whitecloud
Lehner
Thompson
They are able to ice this lineup because they have the following players on LTIR (I've also included each of their cap hits for this season):
Reilly Smith - 5,000,000
Laurent Brossoit - 2,325,000
William Carrier - 1,400,000
Nolan Patrick - 1,200,000
Brett Howden - 885,000
Nicholas Hague - 791,667
Jake Bischoff - 716,667
Once the playoffs begin, the Golden Knights would likely be running something like this:
Dadonov-Eichel-Smith
Pacioretty-Stephenson-Stone
Marchessault-Karlsson-Roy
Carrier-Janmark-Kolesar
Martinez-Pietrangelo
McNabb-Theodore
Hague-Whitecloud
Lehner
Brossoit
Either way this is a scary Vegas team. It is a matter of don't hate the player, hate the game here. I am against the cap circumvention that teams like Florida, Tampa, and Vegas have all done but I don't fault the teams for doing it. The rules in place as they are have allowed these teams to do this.
If the Golden Knights win in regulation tonight they will officially overtake LA for third in the Pacific Division (if LA loses to the Blue Jackets tonight), That would mean as long as Edmonton remains in second, the Golden Knights would be the Oilers first round opponent. An Edmonton win and an LA win tonight would continue to put more ground between the Kings and Golden Knights.
The Kings are a solid team that has over achieved this season and will be without Doughty for the remainder of the season. The Golden Knights are a team with elite talent from top to bottom and when fully healthy will be about 8 million over the cap. Which would you rather face?
Another random fun fact. After today's game the Oilers will have a three day break before playing the Dallas Stars at home. This will be the first three day break that Edmonton will have had since Jay Woodcroft became head coach. Since taking over on February 11th, the Oilers have gone 20-8-3 under Woodcroft, scoring 117 GF and 89 goals against. They've scored the 5th most 5 on 5 goals in that time at 75 and allowed the 16th fewest 5 on 5 goals against at 60. Their powerplay has also come back online, scoring the 4th most goals despite having the 14th most PP opportunities.
One last note, credit where credit is due. Mike Smith is 5-0-0 in his last 5 starts, allowing only 9 goals against and a whooping 0.945SV%. The key to a long playoff run is to have a goalie go hot at the right time and fans can hope that that is exactly what is happening right now. Koskinen remains in this same conversation. The team as a whole collapsed in front of him against the Wild but even with that start, Mikko has a 0.923SV% in his last 4 starts, including a brilliant performance against the Colorado Avalanche.
It should be a fun game today and hopefully we see the Oilers come out strong against at team that they must beat. Enjoy the game, and Happy Easter!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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