The first round playoff clash in the Stanley Cup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers will take place on May 9 at the T-Mobile Arena. The series score is 1-0 in favor of Edmonton. Vegas vs. Edmonton: prediction, statistics.
Vegas Golden Knights
Bruce Cassidy's team lost the previous home game of the series with a score of 2-4. Notably, Vegas has been unable to win on their ice for three consecutive NHL games (1 draw, 2 losses). In the last match, Mark Stone stood out, scoring both goals for the hosts. It's worth mentioning that in the current playoffs, Vegas ranks among the top five teams conceding the most goals, with 23 goals against. However, they are also among the leaders in penalty killing (80%).
- Vegas has not conceded more than three goals in regular time in 8 of their last 11 home NHL games.
- The club has won 12 of their previous 17 league matches as hosts (1 in OT).
- At least six goals have been scored in regular time in 5 of the last 7 NHL games involving Vegas.
Edmonton Oilers
Chris Knoblauch's team started with a victory in the second round, winning their fifth consecutive playoff game, despite trailing in each of them, a feat no other NHL club has achieved before. Edmonton nearly doubled their opponent in shot activity (28:17). Three players from the team scored two points each – Evan Bouchard (0+2), Leon Draisaitl (1+1), and Connor McDavid (0+2). In the current playoffs, Edmonton is the highest-scoring team in the league, with 31 goals, while also being among the top three for goals conceded (26 goals). Additionally, they rank third in power play performance in the current Stanley Cup (33.3%).
- Edmonton has scored at least three goals in regular time in 9 of their last 11 NHL encounters at Vegas.
- The team has won after three periods in 4 of the last 6 away league games.
- No more than six goals have been scored in regular time in 8 of Edmonton's last 10 NHL away games.
Vegas vs. Edmonton: Match Prediction
The teams started the series quite effectively, scoring six goals combined. In the current playoffs, Edmonton has scored fewer than three goals only once, while Vegas has consistently scored at least twice in regular time in this Stanley Cup run. Despite the convincing win by the visitors in the first match, Vegas, in my opinion, was not outperformed in terms of movement and will continue to achieve their minimum. As for Edmonton, being the highest-scoring club in these playoffs, expecting low scoring is practically pointless.
I believe the teams will continue to surprise with their scoring. In 7 of the last 10 NHL head-to-head meetings, the opponents have scored at least six goals in regular time. Furthermore, similar scoring was observed for Vegas in 5 of the last 7 NHL games, and for Edmonton in 6 of the last 7 league games. Based on this, I don't expect less, so my prediction: Total over 5.5
