Golden Knights overcome Leon Draisaitl's 4 goals to take opener - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — How the Vegas Golden Knights walked away with a 6-4 win Wednesday night against the Edmonton Oilers to open the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs could be a microcosm of what lies ahead.

Everything the Golden Knights sought to accomplish in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at T-Mobile Arena fit within their overall scheme. But it also came with a sense of latitude, that there could be exceptions.

On Wednesday night, Oilers superstar center Leon Draisaitl was the exception. The 2020 Hart Memorial Trophy winner scored all four of his team's goals, taking his postseason totals to a league-high 11 goals and 15 points.

But asked whether he took any consolation from his four-goal performance, Draisaitl said simply, «No.»

Draisaitl's four-goal game came less than 24 hours after veteran Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski, who missed five games in the first round while in the concussion protocol, also scored four times in his team's 5-4 overtime loss Tuesday to the Seattle Kraken. It was only the second time in league history that a player had a four-goal performance on consecutive days in the postseason, according to the NHL.

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy was far more vocal about Draisaitl's performance than Draisaitl was. Cassidy was breaking down what happened on all four goals before making a statement about Draisaitl that drew laughter.

«Leon Draisaitl with his 11th goals of the playoffs,» Cassidy said. «Does that sound funny to you? Eleven goals. We're in the first game of the second round. I mean, it's unbelievable.»

But on the whole, Cassidy and his players sounded mostly pleased with their overall defensive approach.

«I thought we did have defensive success to be quite honest with you,»