<p>The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with a huge Game 1 win, but it would take an equally strong effort in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-golden-knights-game-2-preview-opportunity-take-lead">Game 2</a> if our boys were going to grab both of these road games. And while we got <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/game-recap-highlights-oilers-beat-golden-knights-overtime-take-series-lead">the 5-4 overtime win</a> we wanted, none of us could have predicted the rollercoaster ride it took to get there. What a win. What a hockey game.</p>
<h2><strong>CALVIN PICKARD STAYS UNDEFEATED</strong></h2>
<p>It&#8217;s not very often I would say that Calvin Pickard was the Oilers&#8217; best player despite allowing four goals, but I believe that was the case in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-golden-knights-game-2-information-line-combinations-starting-goaltenders">Game 2</a>. On a night when the skaters in front of him didn&#8217;t necessarily have their A-game, Pickard was called upon countless times to come up with a big save, and he rose to the challenge. One-timers were coming in from everywhere, there were chances on the doorstep, and there were second and third whacks happening at the puck around the crease on nearly every shift, but Pickard held his ground and stood on business. Even though no one is writing home about a .875 save percentage for our pal Cal, you can&#8217;t deny that it&#8217;s still a better number than Adin Hill&#8217;s .865 save percentage.</p>
<p>The result was Pickard locking down his sixth consecutive win after taking over the crease in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/04/25/instant-reaction-third-period-rally-oilers-beat-kings-game-3/">Game 3</a> against the Kings, as he continues to get his teammates steady but not necessarily spectacular goaltending. The thing I love about how he&#8217;s playing right now is that he&#8217;s been able to maintain an even keel even when something goes sideways. He doesn&#8217;t really seem to get rattled all that much, and he finds a way to get refocused and back to work. It&#8217;s a trait that paid off more than a few times in Thursday&#8217;s OT win and has put Calvin Pickard in a position no one could have imagined a year ago. But how can you argue with the results when you&#8217;ve won six straight games?</p>
<h2>JAKE WALMAN KEEPS GETTING BETTER</h2>
<p>I love how Jake Walman has been played through the Oilers&#8217; first eight playoff games. Quietly steady every time he&#8217;s on the ice, the guy has a knack for calming things down even when the pressure is cranking up. Whether it&#8217;s a strong breakout pass or a key blocked shot to negate a scoring chance, Walman is playing the kind of greasy hockey it takes to win in the playoffs. While he&#8217;s not playing the most minutes back there — that honour usually goes to Evan Bouchard — he&#8217;s vacuuming up the 20+ minutes he is getting, and he&#8217;s doing it with strong puck management and personal sacrifice.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be the first to admit that I didn&#8217;t know much about Walman when Stan Bowman <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-acquire-jake-walman-from-san-jose-sharks">traded for him at the deadline</a>, he&#8217;s showing on a nightly basis why he was a solid acquisition target. With Mattias Ekholm still out of the lineup, other guys have had to step up and handle more minutes, and I love how Walman has been able to do that. In 21:58 of TOI, Walman finished the game with a goal, five blocks, one hit, and a +2 rating. I know nobody cares about +/- anymore, but it&#8217;s hard not to notice how Walman keeps ending up on the right side of the ice when the goal light goes off. I love the guy.</p>
<h2><strong>ANOTHER UNDISCIPLINED START</strong></h2>
<p>If I were the Oilers, I would simply stop gifting Vegas four minutes of power play time to kick off these games. As much as I agree that the PK needs more practice, I don&#8217;t know that calling upon them for a double header in the first few minutes is the smartest strategy. Tough calls, bad luck, or whatever you want to call it, the Golden Knights will produce enough opportunities for themselves without the Oilers helping them out every night, and it was a serious bummer to see the same problem happen two games in a row.</p>
<p>To make matters worse, Edmonton&#8217;s penalty kill is not getting any better. The boys are giving up a goal or two almost every night, and that&#8217;s a problem they need to solve before the PK becomes an even bigger liability than it already has been. Remember how cool last year&#8217;s run was when the Oilers almost got better when they were down a man? I would pay all the riches in Gregor&#8217;s kingdom for another stretch like that. All I know for sure is that having your penalty kill hovering around 60% makes the road to winning hockey games a hell of a lot harder to navigate. So, what&#8217;s the lesson? STAY OUT OF THE BOX!</p>
<h1>OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING</h1>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Recapping Game 2 - Vegas Golden Knights vs. Edmonton Oilers | Oilersnation After Dark" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pNwsBdKMDHc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p><strong>1. </strong> Make it six consecutive comeback wins for the Edmonton Oil—ridiculousous stat. The better news is that we don&#8217;t have to talk about how painful that blown third period lead could have been.</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> I love depth scoring, and the Oilers seem to have that figured out right now. I love it. I love <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-found-optimal-lineup">this lineup</a>.</p>
<p><strong>3.</strong> I love <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/08/24/what-should-oilers-fans-expect-from-vasily-podkolzin/">Vasily Podkolzin</a>. The guy didn&#8217;t score as many points in the regular season as his skillset suggests he should, but you can never question his work ethic on a shift-by-shift basis. That&#8217;s why I was so pumped to see his hard work rewarded when he ripped that low wrister past Adin Hill at 15:18 of the second period to give Edmonton the lead, giving him two points on the night and six in eight post-season games. The kid has a heavy, heavy shot and what I wouldn&#8217;t do for him to unleash that baby a little more.</p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> Evander Kane coming into <a href="https://oilersnation.com/combinations">the lineup</a> in the playoffs for his first games of the season, and playing as well as he is, is the gift I&#8217;ve always dreamed of. Despite nearly a full calendar year on the shelf, Kane has chipped in three goals on this run, and he&#8217;s coming up with them at massive moments in the game. He&#8217;s banging, crashing, skating, mixing it up, and doing it all while leaving his mark on the scoresheet.</p>
<p><strong>5.</strong> The penalty kill is a mess. Even though I already wrote about the PK earlier in this article, it bears repeating that running a ~60% is bad news for our Stanley Cup dreams. In four shorthanded situations, the Oilers only managed to keep Vegas off the board twice. That&#8217;s nowhere near good enough. To make matters worse, Edmonton couldn&#8217;t get anything done on the power play in any of their three chances with the man advantage. I mean, the fact that they couldn&#8217;t score on a five-minute major to close it out in OT is tragic. That should have been game over.</p>
<p><strong>6.</strong> How hurt is Leon Draisaitl? I don&#8217;t know anything about anything, and I know he scored the OT winner, but our man didn&#8217;t look like himself. Just me? Even so, the guy will seemingly battle through anything because he still managed to grind through 28:28 of TOI. I&#8217;d love to be wrong, and I&#8217;d also love to know what you think in the comments section.</p>
<p><strong>7.</strong> How about the filthy dangle by Connor McDavid on the game-winning goal? I actually thought Connor had one of his quieter nights, and then he walks Jack Eichel like he&#8217;s a pylon before dishing to his running mate for the GWG. You never know when you&#8217;re going to get moments of brilliance, I suppose.</p>
<p><strong>8.</strong> Shout out to Triumph for the Lay It On The Line royalties that are coming in right now.</p>
<p><strong>9.</strong> Sometimes the world can be uncertain and scary, but at least you can always depend on your ol&#8217; pal Baggedmilk telling you that the Oilers won only 43.4% of the faceoffs.</p>
<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY ODD COMPANY</strong></h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-161882 aligncenter" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1.png 727w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1-300x167.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" /></p>
<p>We’re beyond excited to announce our latest partnership with Odd Company Brewing to bring you <a href="https://www.oddcompany.ca/new-blog/2024/10/8/nationbeer-everyday-lager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the all-new Nation Beer</a> Everyday Lager! Whether you&#8217;re watching the big game, chilling with friends, or just kicking back after a long day, this crisp, refreshing lager is the perfect choice. It’s the brew you can count on anytime, anywhere. So, why not make it your next game-day tradition? Nation Beer Everyday Lager is available now at Odd Company Brewing and through Liquor Connect. Don’t miss out—grab yours today and take your beer game to the next level! Cheers, Nation Citizens!</p>


Edmonton Oilers Calvin Pickard save Vegas Golden Knights

The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with a huge Game 1 win, but it would take an equally strong effort in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-golden-knights-game-2-preview-opportunity-take-lead">Game 2</a> if our boys were going to grab both of these road games. And while we got <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/game-recap-highlights-oilers-beat-golden-knights-overtime-take-series-lead">the 5-4 overtime win</a> we wanted, none of us could have predicted the rollercoaster ride it took to get there. What a win. What a hockey game.
<h2><strong>CALVIN PICKARD STAYS UNDEFEATED</strong></h2>
It's not very often I would say that Calvin Pickard was the Oilers' best player despite allowing four goals, but I believe that was the case in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-golden-knights-game-2-information-line-combinations-starting-goaltenders">Game 2</a>. On a night when the skaters in front of him didn't necessarily have their A-game, Pickard was called upon countless times to come up with a big save, and he rose to the challenge. One-timers were coming in from everywhere, there were chances on the doorstep, and there were second and third whacks happening at the puck around the crease on nearly every shift, but Pickard held his ground and stood on business. Even though no one is writing home about a .875 save percentage for our pal Cal, you can't deny that it's still a better number than Adin Hill's .865 save percentage.

The result was Pickard locking down his sixth consecutive win after taking over the crease in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2025/04/25/instant-reaction-third-period-rally-oilers-beat-kings-game-3/">Game 3</a> against the Kings, as he continues to get his teammates steady but not necessarily spectacular goaltending. The thing I love about how he's playing right now is that he's been able to maintain an even keel even when something goes sideways. He doesn't really seem to get rattled all that much, and he finds a way to get refocused and back to work. It's a trait that paid off more than a few times in Thursday's OT win and has put Calvin Pickard in a position no one could have imagined a year ago. But how can you argue with the results when you've won six straight games?
<h2>JAKE WALMAN KEEPS GETTING BETTER</h2>
I love how Jake Walman has been played through the Oilers' first eight playoff games. Quietly steady every time he's on the ice, the guy has a knack for calming things down even when the pressure is cranking up. Whether it's a strong breakout pass or a key blocked shot to negate a scoring chance, Walman is playing the kind of greasy hockey it takes to win in the playoffs. While he's not playing the most minutes back there — that honour usually goes to Evan Bouchard — he's vacuuming up the 20+ minutes he is getting, and he's doing it with strong puck management and personal sacrifice.

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't know much about Walman when Stan Bowman <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-acquire-jake-walman-from-san-jose-sharks">traded for him at the deadline</a>, he's showing on a nightly basis why he was a solid acquisition target. With Mattias Ekholm still out of the lineup, other guys have had to step up and handle more minutes, and I love how Walman has been able to do that. In 21:58 of TOI, Walman finished the game with a goal, five blocks, one hit, and a +2 rating. I know nobody cares about +/- anymore, but it's hard not to notice how Walman keeps ending up on the right side of the ice when the goal light goes off. I love the guy.
<h2><strong>ANOTHER UNDISCIPLINED START</strong></h2>
If I were the Oilers, I would simply stop gifting Vegas four minutes of power play time to kick off these games. As much as I agree that the PK needs more practice, I don't know that calling upon them for a double header in the first few minutes is the smartest strategy. Tough calls, bad luck, or whatever you want to call it, the Golden Knights will produce enough opportunities for themselves without the Oilers helping them out every night, and it was a serious bummer to see the same problem happen two games in a row.

To make matters worse, Edmonton's penalty kill is not getting any better. The boys are giving up a goal or two almost every night, and that's a problem they need to solve before the PK becomes an even bigger liability than it already has been. Remember how cool last year's run was when the Oilers almost got better when they were down a man? I would pay all the riches in Gregor's kingdom for another stretch like that. All I know for sure is that having your penalty kill hovering around 60% makes the road to winning hockey games a hell of a lot harder to navigate. So, what's the lesson? STAY OUT OF THE BOX!
<h1>OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING</h1>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNwsBdKMDHc

<strong>1. </strong> Make it six consecutive comeback wins for the Edmonton Oil—ridiculousous stat. The better news is that we don't have to talk about how painful that blown third period lead could have been.

<strong>2.</strong> I love depth scoring, and the Oilers seem to have that figured out right now. I love it. I love <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-found-optimal-lineup">this lineup</a>.

<strong>3.</strong> I love <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/08/24/what-should-oilers-fans-expect-from-vasily-podkolzin/">Vasily Podkolzin</a>. The guy didn't score as many points in the regular season as his skillset suggests he should, but you can never question his work ethic on a shift-by-shift basis. That's why I was so pumped to see his hard work rewarded when he ripped that low wrister past Adin Hill at 15:18 of the second period to give Edmonton the lead, giving him two points on the night and six in eight post-season games. The kid has a heavy, heavy shot and what I wouldn't do for him to unleash that baby a little more.

<strong>4.</strong> Evander Kane coming into <a href="https://oilersnation.com/combinations">the lineup</a> in the playoffs for his first games of the season, and playing as well as he is, is the gift I've always dreamed of. Despite nearly a full calendar year on the shelf, Kane has chipped in three goals on this run, and he's coming up with them at massive moments in the game. He's banging, crashing, skating, mixing it up, and doing it all while leaving his mark on the scoresheet.

<strong>5.</strong> The penalty kill is a mess. Even though I already wrote about the PK earlier in this article, it bears repeating that running a ~60% is bad news for our Stanley Cup dreams. In four shorthanded situations, the Oilers only managed to keep Vegas off the board twice. That's nowhere near good enough. To make matters worse, Edmonton couldn't get anything done on the power play in any of their three chances with the man advantage. I mean, the fact that they couldn't score on a five-minute major to close it out in OT is tragic. That should have been game over.

<strong>6.</strong> How hurt is Leon Draisaitl? I don't know anything about anything, and I know he scored the OT winner, but our man didn't look like himself. Just me? Even so, the guy will seemingly battle through anything because he still managed to grind through 28:28 of TOI. I'd love to be wrong, and I'd also love to know what you think in the comments section.

<strong>7.</strong> How about the filthy dangle by Connor McDavid on the game-winning goal? I actually thought Connor had one of his quieter nights, and then he walks Jack Eichel like he's a pylon before dishing to his running mate for the GWG. You never know when you're going to get moments of brilliance, I suppose.

<strong>8.</strong> Shout out to Triumph for the Lay It On The Line royalties that are coming in right now.

<strong>9.</strong> Sometimes the world can be uncertain and scary, but at least you can always depend on your ol' pal Baggedmilk telling you that the Oilers won only 43.4% of the faceoffs.
<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY ODD COMPANY</strong></h2>
<img class="size-full wp-image-161882 aligncenter" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/website-banner-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

We’re beyond excited to announce our latest partnership with Odd Company Brewing to bring you <a href="https://www.oddcompany.ca/new-blog/2024/10/8/nationbeer-everyday-lager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the all-new Nation Beer</a> Everyday Lager! Whether you're watching the big game, chilling with friends, or just kicking back after a long day, this crisp, refreshing lager is the perfect choice. It’s the brew you can count on anytime, anywhere. So, why not make it your next game-day tradition? Nation Beer Everyday Lager is available now at Odd Company Brewing and through Liquor Connect. Don’t miss out—grab yours today and take your beer game to the next level! Cheers, Nation Citizens!

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