Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to all of you. I’ve got a fresh mailbag ready to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their take on whatever is on your mind. This week, we’re discussing the Oilers and Golden Knights, how Edmonton beat the Kings, Round 2 matchups, and more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

Not much to be honest, other than they have better depth across their forwards. LA played essentially the same, didn’t adjust to the adjustments Edmonton made during the series.

The Oilers just showed that they’re the mature, Cup contender. They were never phased by what the Kings were doing and knew that if they cleaned up their own play, they would find ways to win. Their resiliency and ability to come back at any point is what really stood out to me.

I wrote about it earlier in the series, but their experience really shined in this one. Their ability to stay even keeled after two tough losses to kick things off. Jim Hiller’s poor coaching didn’t help the Kings’ case, either.

The Oilers showed a level of resilience that we hadn’t seen from them against the Kings in the previous three series. Yes, the first year went to seven games after the Oilers won Game 6 when being down 3-2 in that series, but this was different. The Oilers had to come back from being down by at least one goal in all four of their wins over Los Angeles, and that only happens with a group who believes they can roar back.

It is important every year. In 2023 Kostin had three goals and Bjugstad two in the opening round. This year a few more scored, mainly because this forward group is the deepest of the past four years.

I mean, they wouldn’t have won this series without it. The Oilers big guns did not have a 5v5 point in games 5 or 6 and only scored once on the power play. Without the contributions from the other three lines, the Oilers would not have won this series. The Oilers depth is a driving force behind their playoff success… what a beautiful sentence to type.

It was massively important. McDavid only had two assists and Draisaitl one assist in the final two games, of which the Oilers scored nine goals. They couldn’t have done it without their depth.

Game 6 had six different goal scorers for the Oilers and none of them were McDavid or Draisaitl. That’s the winning recipe. Having everyone chip in at differnet times is how you get through in the playoffs. Let’s hope the trend continues (and grows) against the Golden Knights.

Hard to say one moment, but if I had to pick I would say it was the set play on Bouchard’s second power play goal of Game 3. It showed how the Oilers make adjustments and the Kings don’t.

The obvious one was the blown coaches challenge by Jim Hiller that allowed the Oilers to take the lead. The one that was really crushing though was the Bouchard game tying goal in Game 4. With less than 30 seconds on the clock, the Oilers turned that game around and totally dominated the next five periods of the series. That moment will stick with me for a really long time.

The Evander Kane challenge seemed to certainly flip the script, but I’m going to say Evan Bouchard’s two goals in the third period of Game 4. That was huge.

The coach’s challenge is the obvious one, so I’ll go with Quinton Byfield being unable to clear the zone in Game 4 which led to the Evan Bouchard tying marker only a few seconds later. He gets that puck out and it’s 3-1 Kings. He didn’t, and now L.A. is booking early tee times for the fourth straight season.

They match up quite well, I think. Vegas plays a very different style than LA. They forecheck much harder. They rarely sit all five players on their side of centre to let the Oilers breakout, and their PK is much more passive. They are a bit old school in that they don’t attack to the outside often. Edmonton can’t gift them games like they did LA, with horrific turnovers. Some still view Vegas as a dominant defensive team, but Minnesota created loads of chances, and the Oilers have better offensive depth than Minnesota. I see Edmonton winning in six.

On the betting market, they’re underdogs but I don’t see it that way. The Golden Knights forward group is loaded with talent and their blue line is one of the best in the NHL. They are much better than the Kings and that does concern me quite a bit.

It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure, but I like this spot for the Oilers. They’re a better team they were when they faced Vegas in 2023, and they are undoubtedly going to be hungry. McDavid said after the Kings series closed they haven’t forgotten about losing to them.

I was surprised to see the betting markets have the Oilers favoured because it was the Golden Knights who won the division. That said, I also think the Oilers can beat anyone when they’re at their best. Besides, they beat Vegas when we were down there for the Nation Vacation back in April while missing a handful of guys to injury, and I’m hopeful this full club can do the same four more times.

Vegas doesn’t give up as many “easy” goals as the Oilers despite Edmonton actually giving up fewer chances overall. The Oilers make too many glaring errors. Limit those and their odds of winning increase significantly in my eyes.

The Oilers have better high-end offensive skill, and they have better finishing depth.

Vegas has a bigger and better defensive defence corps.

Edmonton has better puck movers on the back end.

I think they play a very structured style of hockey that will be tough to get through. Their blue line is so deep too. The Oilers special teams needs to be a difference maker for them to have success. Bruce Curlock can probably give you a better answer than I can though.

Vegas has always been a stingy team and the Oilers will need to be ready for that. They have some high-quality finishers on the team, and they are a team that can come at you in waves. Adin Hill wasn’t sharp in the first round against Minnesota, posting a .880 save percentage, so the Oilers will need to find ways to generate high-danger looks and score there, as that was an area Vegas struggled this season.

I think Vegas plays the defensive game L.A. wishes it did, and that’s going to be a challenge for the Oilers to navigate. They’re also going to be better at turning mistakes around and going the other way, so Edmonton will need to be tight on the defensive side of the puck. This won’t be a pond hockey series — I don’t think — so we’ll need our boys at their best. As for Edmonton’s advantage, the two best players on earth being in our roster is certainly something the Golden Knights can’t match.

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