7 Observations: That’s All, Folks; Golden Knights Fall in OT, Exit Postseason With Whimper

For the second game in a row, the Vegas Golden Knights were shut out by the Edmonton Oilers. This time, it cost them their season. The Oilers finally broke a scoreless tie at 7:19 in overtime, winning 1-0 and taking the round two series 4-1.

In the first period, the two teams hesitantly traded chances. The Golden Knights’ season was on the line, and it showed. In turn, the Oilers looked anxious to close out the series and not let the Golden Knights off the mat.

Keegan Kolesar took a tripping penalty at 18:54 in the first period. The Golden Knights killed it off, but the Oilers carried the momentum. At 7:31 in the second period, Ivan Barbashev took an interference penalty; the Golden Knights killed that off, too.

Towards the end of the second period, the Golden Knights started to find their legs. The line of Pavel Dorofeyev, Tomáš Hertl, and Nic Roy generated a few quality looks, but Stuart Skinner was up to the task. 

A few minutes later, the line of William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Ivan Barbashev generated a few looks of their own, but, again, no dice. 

Against all odds, Wednesday’s Game 5 was the first scoreless game after two periods in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Oilers outshot the Golden Knights 18-13 after forty minutes.

Ivan Barbashev atoned for his penalty by drawing a hooking call just 33 seconds into the third period. The Golden Knights struggled to get set up on the power play; when they did, they seemed to have an aversion to shooting the puck.

After the power play, Jack Eichel set up Brett Howden for a back-door tap-in, but the puck bounced wide.

Moments later, Kasperi Kapanen sprung Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway. Adin Hill made the save, and Alex Pietrangelo, backchecking hard, crashed into his goaltender.

Towards the end of the third period, the Golden Knights finally began to consistently generate offense and outshot the Oilers 9-6 in the final 20 minutes. Both goaltenders were perfect through sixty, and these teams headed to overtime for the second time this series.

The Oilers ended the game 7:19 into overtime. Vasily Podkolzin threaded a cross-ice pass to Leon Draisaitl, who pulled up and fed a trailing Darnell Nurse. Adin Hill couldn’t handle Nurse’s one-timer and bobbled the puck. He tried to cover, but Kasperi Kapanen finally banged it in. 

Game over. Series over. Season over.

Three stars of the game: Kasperi Kapanen, Stuart Skinner, Adin Hill

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. I’m still not sure how Brett Howden missed this tap-in after a perfect set-up from Jack Eichel. John Klingberg may have gotten a piece of it. Regardless, the Golden Knights will likely remember it until training camp rolls around in September.

2. In Game 4, Noah Hanifin was among the few Golden Knights who played well. The team looked much better in Game 5, but Hanifin may have been the star of the show. His defensive work was some of the best I’ve seen from him all season. His defense against Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman on the 2-on-1 at the end of the third period was textbook.

3. Regardless of the result, Adin Hill was very good in Game 5, ending the night with 29 saves. He made some big ones. Hill stopped Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway early in the third period and denied Connor McDavid on a 2-on-1 with 1:06 remaining in regulation.

4. After a dramatic last-second victory in Game 3, the Golden Knights failed to solve Stuart Skinner for the next 127:19. Injured though they may be, that is unacceptable from a team that boasted some of the best depth scoring during the regular season.

5. Jack Eichel and William Karlsson held Connor McDavid to one point over the final two games of the series. The series result does not take away from how impressive that is.

6. The Golden Knights played one of their best defensive games of the entire season. It’s a shame their offense didn’t wake up until the final 25ish minutes of a must-win Game 5.

7. Kasperi Kapanen banged the puck past Adin Hill after Hill failed to control the rebound on Darnell Nurse’s shot. But at the end of the day, a team cannot score zero goals and expect to win.

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