Two goals and a steal by Connor McDavid weren’t enough for the Oilers to win, as they dropped a 4-3 decision in Las Vegas in Game 5..Vegas right winger Reilly Smith hooked Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard 70 seconds into the game to give the Oilers’ red-hot power play an early opportunity. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid scored his sixth playoff goal with eight seconds left on the power play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each collected their eighth assist of the post-season..Jack Eichel, who was drafted second overall behind McDavid in 2015, scored 50 seconds later with assists from defenceman Alec Martinez and Jonathan Marchessault..The second period was scoreless until the Oilers took two penalties, the first at 12:49. Philip Broberg got his second penalty of the night for holding Eichel behind the net in the Oiler zone. Eichel held Broberg twice on the play unnoticed by the ref. Then Eichel took a high stick from an undisciplined Mattias Janmark at the 13:33 mark..Vegas quickly took advantage of the five-on-three power play, as Mark Stone sent a wrist shot past Skinner at the 14:05 mark to tie the game at two goals apiece..Still on the power play, Vegas right winger Reilly Smith batted the puck in at the 14:34 mark to score his first goal of the playoffs, with Ivan Barbachev and William Karlsson each collecting their third assist of the post-season. Vegas pulled ahead 3-2, gaining a lead they would never relinquish..One minute later, Hague shot a knuckler from just inside the blue line that made its way past Stuart Skinner to extend the Vegas lead to 4-2. Eichel collected his seventh assist of the playoffs, and Marchessault got his fifth. Skinner was pulled in favour of goalie Jack Campbell..Vegas player Keegan Kolesar took Oiler defenseman Mattias Ekholm hard into the boards with 23 seconds left in the period. Kolesar received a five-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct..In the third period, McDavid took advantage of the long power play, driving to the net on his backhand. He put in his own rebound to score at the 2:40 mark, with Bouchard getting his 13th playoff assist..At 7:57 of the third, Warren Foegele got a double minor for a high stick that drew blood on Ben Hutton. The power play was short-lived as Eichel got a roughing penalty for retaliating against Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais..William Karlsson, who became a first-time father Thursday night, had a breakaway, only to be stick checked by Hart Trophy finalist Connor McDavid, who stole the puck. The Oilers made a frenzied effort as the game wound down, but Hill stopped everything that came his way..Skinner saved 18 of 22 shots he faced for an .818 save percentage before Campbell saved all nine shots he faced in relief. Vegas goalie Aden Hill saved 31 of 34 shots he faced for a .912 save percentage. Las Vegas won 57% of the faceoffs..The Oilers are the only Canadian team still in contention. Toronto lost 3-2 in overtime to Florida, who will face Carolina in the Eastern Conference Finals. Dallas leads their series 3-2 and will play Saturday at 5 pm Mountain Time. Game 6 of the Vegas-Edmonton series will take place on Sunday..Neither Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse nor Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo got ice time, as they were serving one-game suspensions. Pietrangelo slashed Leon Draisaitl near the end of Game 4, and Nurse was suspended for instigating a fight with Hague in the final minute of the game. .Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was also fined $10,000. After Game 4, he said he disagreed with the call..“I saw Darnell wrap somebody up, two guys bear hugging each other, and I saw their player with his gloves off first,” Woodcroft told reporters after the game..“I saw their player throw eight punches, so to me, that’s two willing combatants. It’s not like somebody was turtled up in a ball.”
Two goals and a steal by Connor McDavid weren’t enough for the Oilers to win, as they dropped a 4-3 decision in Las Vegas in Game 5..Vegas right winger Reilly Smith hooked Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard 70 seconds into the game to give the Oilers’ red-hot power play an early opportunity. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid scored his sixth playoff goal with eight seconds left on the power play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman each collected their eighth assist of the post-season..Jack Eichel, who was drafted second overall behind McDavid in 2015, scored 50 seconds later with assists from defenceman Alec Martinez and Jonathan Marchessault..The second period was scoreless until the Oilers took two penalties, the first at 12:49. Philip Broberg got his second penalty of the night for holding Eichel behind the net in the Oiler zone. Eichel held Broberg twice on the play unnoticed by the ref. Then Eichel took a high stick from an undisciplined Mattias Janmark at the 13:33 mark..Vegas quickly took advantage of the five-on-three power play, as Mark Stone sent a wrist shot past Skinner at the 14:05 mark to tie the game at two goals apiece..Still on the power play, Vegas right winger Reilly Smith batted the puck in at the 14:34 mark to score his first goal of the playoffs, with Ivan Barbachev and William Karlsson each collecting their third assist of the post-season. Vegas pulled ahead 3-2, gaining a lead they would never relinquish..One minute later, Hague shot a knuckler from just inside the blue line that made its way past Stuart Skinner to extend the Vegas lead to 4-2. Eichel collected his seventh assist of the playoffs, and Marchessault got his fifth. Skinner was pulled in favour of goalie Jack Campbell..Vegas player Keegan Kolesar took Oiler defenseman Mattias Ekholm hard into the boards with 23 seconds left in the period. Kolesar received a five-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct..In the third period, McDavid took advantage of the long power play, driving to the net on his backhand. He put in his own rebound to score at the 2:40 mark, with Bouchard getting his 13th playoff assist..At 7:57 of the third, Warren Foegele got a double minor for a high stick that drew blood on Ben Hutton. The power play was short-lived as Eichel got a roughing penalty for retaliating against Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais..William Karlsson, who became a first-time father Thursday night, had a breakaway, only to be stick checked by Hart Trophy finalist Connor McDavid, who stole the puck. The Oilers made a frenzied effort as the game wound down, but Hill stopped everything that came his way..Skinner saved 18 of 22 shots he faced for an .818 save percentage before Campbell saved all nine shots he faced in relief. Vegas goalie Aden Hill saved 31 of 34 shots he faced for a .912 save percentage. Las Vegas won 57% of the faceoffs..The Oilers are the only Canadian team still in contention. Toronto lost 3-2 in overtime to Florida, who will face Carolina in the Eastern Conference Finals. Dallas leads their series 3-2 and will play Saturday at 5 pm Mountain Time. Game 6 of the Vegas-Edmonton series will take place on Sunday..Neither Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse nor Vegas defenceman Alex Pietrangelo got ice time, as they were serving one-game suspensions. Pietrangelo slashed Leon Draisaitl near the end of Game 4, and Nurse was suspended for instigating a fight with Hague in the final minute of the game. .Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was also fined $10,000. After Game 4, he said he disagreed with the call..“I saw Darnell wrap somebody up, two guys bear hugging each other, and I saw their player with his gloves off first,” Woodcroft told reporters after the game..“I saw their player throw eight punches, so to me, that’s two willing combatants. It’s not like somebody was turtled up in a ball.”
