LAS VEGAS — For the second night in a row, a Western Conference player scored four goals in a losing effort to begin the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Wednesday is Las Vegas, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers dropped four on the Golden Knights in a losing effort.
The night before, it was Joe Pavelski who scored four as his Dallas Stars lost the series opener to the Seattle Kraken.
It was the second instance in Stanley Cup Playoffs history where a player had a four-goal performance on consecutive days, and it hadn’t happened since 1988.
So, how did Vegas come out on top? For starters, they got contributions up and down the lineup in what goaltender Laurent Brossoit called “a collective effort.”
Vegas recorded six goals from five different players, and kept everyone not named Draisaitil at bay. And every time Draisaitl did score, Vegas responded with goals of their own, never really letting Edmonton get much of an upper hand.
And as Tony Cordasco of Locked On Golden Knights podcast points out, Vegas had a 13-minute stretch where they held the Oilers without a shot on goal.
They also did a great job clearing the zone, and while the did allow the four goals, it was a solid defensive effort, added Chris Gawlik.
By the way, according to the NHL, Vegas and Seattle became the fourth and fifth teams in NHL history to earn a playoff win despite allowing an opposing player to score four times.
Prior to Tuesday, teams with a four-goal scorer held an all-time record of 36-3 in the postseason.
Draisaitl leads all players with 11 goals and 15 points through seven playoff games, while Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard (12 points each) rank third.
Vegas will need another complete effort to take this series to Edmonton with a 2-0 series lead.