The Edmonton Oilers are off to the Western Conference Final after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 1-0 in overtime in Game 5 of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. From the start of the season, even dating back to the Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the goal was to get back and finish the story by winning the Stanley Cup.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have led the Oilers throughout their playoff runs. You can even throw Evan Bouchard‘s name into that mix. However, Bouchard did have a breakout playoff run in 2024. But you could see that any time the Oilers ran into a team with more depth, they could not compete. The only teams they could beat was the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1 and a Canadian either the Calgary Flames in 2022 or the Vancouver Canucks last season.
Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Aspirations and Odds
That was because Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put the team on their back. While they would get depth scoring here and there, it was the Connor and Leon show. You could see they were missing that piece when they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in 2022, the Colorado Avalanche, in 2023, the Vegas Golden Knights, and in 2024. Even though they got to Game 7 of the Cup Final, the Florida Panthers had more depth than the Oilers did.
Something had to change; this could not be a two-man team anymore. The Colorado Avalanche realized that, and then they won the Stanley Cup. You are seeing it in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs thus far. The Edmonton Oilers have depth scoring and the numbers back it up.
The Oilers are actually outscoring other teams 17-9 at five-on-five when Draisaitl and McDavid are not on the ice. That never happened in past playoffs. Edmonton was a -20 at five-on-five in the regular season. Last year in the playoffs, the Oilers were a -9. However, this year, they are a +8. That is the difference for the Edmonton Oilers and how they need to be successful moving forward.
The Edmonton Oilers Have a Stuart Skinner Problem
If you go up and down the lineup for the Oilers, any player with the most goals is five. Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl are tied for the team lead. In years past, Draisaitl and McDavid were in double digits by now or close to it. But they finally have depth scoring, something many people did not think they had entering the playoffs or all season, given their losses in the off-season.
Connor Brown is playing really well, with seven points, including four goals. Evander Kane, as NHLRumors.com has documented, is a difference maker for the Edmonton Oilers when he is healthy. He also has seven points and four goals. Zach Hyman is finding his game again. Trent Frederic is healthy and contributing. Adam Henrique is doing what he does best in the playoffs, and that is scoring goals. From Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Vasily Podkolzin, the Oilers are finding different ways to score goals.
In Game 5 against the Golden Knights, the hero for the Edmonton Oilers was Kasperi Kapanen. Yes, the same Kasperi Kapanen who was with the Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues earlier in the season. He has found a home with the Oilers in their bottom-six. He even played with Draisaitl in Game 4 to lock down the top players of the Golden Knights. But this time of year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you never know who the hero will be.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl Understand Pressure Playing in Canada
But it is not just the offense, the defense is playing well too and has more depth than we thought. Again, with Mattias Ekholm out of the lineup, nobody thought the Oilers would survive the first round. However, the Edmonton Oilers have depth on the backend with Troy Stecher, John Klingberg, Brett Kulak, Jake Walman, and Ty Emberson.
The Edmonton Oilers are playing as a unit under head coach Kris Knoblauch. He can roll four lines every game, regardless of the score. The Oilers stick to their game plan, whether trailing or up in the game. It shows that they have an NHL record six straight come-from-behind victories.
Again, it is only Round 2, but the Edmonton Oilers looked dialed in and ready to complete their mission. Goaltending will always be a question mark, but if they continue to get depth scoring, this team can return to the Stanley Cup Final, something nobody thought was possible at the beginning of the year.
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