Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 21: Golden Knights respond big with 5-1 win to take 2-1 series lead

Going into Game 3, the Edmonton Oilers had all the momentum.

Even though the series was tied 1-1, it almost felt like a 2-0 lead for Edmonton since they exploded in Game 2, and even with the Vegas Golden Knights winning Game 1, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers power play seemed tough to beat in the loss, and looked almost inevitable throughout this series.

And now that the series was heading to Edmonton, it seemed like they were going to carry this momentum through both games. It didn’t help that adding to that momentum was a goal from Warren Foegele just 2:45 into the game with a fortunate bounce off of him and in.

But Vegas wasn’t going down easy. In fact, they didn’t even give the Oilers two minutes before Jonathan Marchessault scored his first goal of the playoffs to tie the game. Unfortunately for them, they took a big loss midway through the period while grinding through that tie game, as goaltender Laurent Brossoit had to leave with an apparent injury after stretching to make a save, and Adin Hill came into the game in relief.

Vegas didn’t let that slow them down, as Marchessault scored again to give the Golden Knights the lead in the final minute of the first. Zach Whitecloud scored on a wicked shot to start the scoring in the second period, and then Jack Eichel added to the lead to make it 4-1, and that was it for Stuart Skinner’s night, as he was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots.

However, Jack Campbell wasn’t much of an immediate stabilizing presence for the Oilers. A few minutes later Nicholas Roy scored to make it 5-1, but it got called back due to Alec Martinez impeding Campbell when he drove to the net. But, it took all of 17 seconds for them to get another chance, and this time Roy set up Chandler Stephenson to actually make it 5-1.

That score held throughout the third period, and the Golden Knights won the game and now take a 2-1 series lead. Eichel had himself a strong game in response to the Oilers stars with a goal and two assists, while Marchessault led the way in goals with two, his first two of the postseason, and after coming in cold, Hill stopped all 25 shots that he faced to secure the win. Oh, and Vegas kept the Oilers stars quiet by giving them only one full power play to work with.