The Vegas Golden Knights are back in familiar territory in the Western Conference finals.
Jonathan Marchessault scored three goals for his second career postseason hat trick as the Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 6 of their second-round series on Sunday night to reach the semifinal round for the fourth time. in the six years of the franchise. history.
«We’re only halfway to our goal here,» Marchessault said. «We will keep going until our organization wins the ultimate goal. Tonight is just a step in the right direction.»
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Vegas Golden Knights’ William Karlsson (71) scores an empty net goal on the Edmonton Oilers during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL Stanley Cup second round hockey playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta , on Sunday, May 14, 2023. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Reilly Smith and William Karlsson also scored for the Golden Knights, and Ivan Barbashev had two assists. Adin Hill finished with 39 saves in his third career playoff start.
«I’ve worked so hard all my life to get to the NHL and be here,» said the 27-year-old Hill. «It’s exciting to be on a team that is so good and has the chance to do it all, I’m grateful and excited.»
Vegas will next face the winner of the Dallas-Seattle series, which heads into Game 7 on Monday night.
The Golden Knights still have half a dozen players from the team that reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2017-18.
«We have a lot of older guys on the team who have been through a lot,» Marchessault said. «Let’s not panic. It’s one of our strengths and it will definitely help us in the future.»
Connor McDavid and Warren Foegele scored early in the first period for Edmonton, which led 2-1 less than three minutes into the game. Stuart Skinner allowed four goals on 17 shots in two quarters, and Jack Campbell stopped all four shots he faced in the third.
The Oilers failed to return to the conference finals for the second straight year after losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado a year ago.
«It hurts,» Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl said, his voice shaking. «It’s hard to find words right now. When you start a season, you’re in it to win it. We’re at that stage. If you don’t complete that, it feels like a failure or almost a wasted year.» Hurts.»
JORDAN EBERLE LEAD KRAKEN WITH 2 GOALS TO FORCE THE GAME 7 VS STARS
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of an NHL Stanley Cup second round hockey playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta on Sunday, May 14, 2023. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Edmonton’s loss officially extended the drought of a Canadian team winning the Cup to 30 years since Montreal won in 1993.
Marchessault tied the score 2–2 at 4:26 of the second period when the puck deflected off a skid in front of the crease and the right wing fired into the opening as Skinner slid across the goal to try to stop it.
«A little lack of defensive execution in the second quarter ended up hurting us a lot tonight,» Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said.
Marchessault then put Las Vegas ahead at 7:44. After a slap shot from Alec Martinez deflected in the air over Skinner’s shoulder and landed on the goal line, Marchessault finished him off.
Seconds after a Las Vegas power play expired late in the half, Marchessault completed his hat trick with a 4-on-4 goal with 1:24 remaining. His wrist shot from just above the hash marks on an ice cross transmission from Alex Pietrangelo that beat Skinner to the other side.
Leon Draisaitl, who scored 13 goals in his first eight playoff games, and McDavid met in the same vein in the third quarter in an attempt to produce more offense. The Oilers generated several chances and McDavid hit the post.
Campbell was pulled for an extra spiker with over three minutes remaining in the third, but Hill and the Golden Knights held their ground.
«What was the difference? They did a lot of good things, they closed it out,» McDavid said. «The third period was clinical. We still had our looks and we couldn’t find a way to get over it.»
Karlsson sealed the win with an empty net at the last minute.
The Golden Knights held up Edmonton’s vaunted power play to a scoreless chance in the second period. The Oilers, the NHL’s highest scoring team in the regular season, were held to 10 goals in the last four games of the series.
The Knights also outscored Edmonton 17-10 on even strength.
«I think our 5-on-5 game has been good all year,» Marchessault said. «We were down 1-0 and 2-1 quite often in that series and we struggled.»
The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate their victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of an NHL Stanley Cup second round hockey playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta on Sunday, May 14, 2023. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vegas got on the scoreboard first when Smith scored his second in two games on an Edmonton turnover in his own corner. Skinner cleared the puck along the boards in a pair of Las Vegas jerseys and the puck went out to Smith in the slot for a goal 24 seconds into the game.
McDavid equalized just 31 seconds later when he received a pass from Brett Kulak and beat Hill with a low shot just under the keeper’s blocker.
Foegele put the Oilers ahead at 2:43 when he received a reverse pass from Derek Ryan from behind the goal line and scored while driving into the net.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
BIG MINUTE MEN RETURN
Both clubs had top-tier defenses in their lineups Sunday after serving one-game suspensions in Game 5: Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse and Las Vegas’ Pietrangelo.