EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid said he believes the Edmonton Oilers are better equipped to face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round than they were two seasons ago The six-game loss to Vegas in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs stung the Oilers and their captain considering they had the lead in Game 5 with the series tied 2-2 and let it slip away to the eventual Cup champions Edmonton is looking forward to its shot at redemption starting with Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (9:30 p.m “It’s definitely helpful when you’re going up against a veteran team like Vegas who is also more experienced and played a lot of playoff hockey and played in big moments In 2023, Game 5 in Vegas proved to be the turning point in the series. Edmonton led 2-1 on first-period goals from McDavid and Zach Hyman and were in control through the middle of the second However, a holding penalty assessed to defenseman Philip Broberg at 12:49 and a high-sticking minor to forward Mattias Janmark 44 seconds later put the Golden Knights on a two-man advantage Forwards Mark Stone and Reilly Smith then scored power-play goals 29 seconds apart to give Vegas a 3-2 lead. A goal by forward Nicolas Hague a minute later made it 4-2 going into the third period McDavid scored on the power play at 2:40 of the third to make it 4-3 but that was as close as Edmonton would get The Oilers were eliminated with a 5-2 loss at home in Game 6 two nights later Vegas then defeated the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final and the Florida Panthers in the Final to win the Stanley Cup “It’s difficult anytime you lose in the playoffs especially when you feel you had a good team,” McDavid said and obviously they had a great team as well We feel like we have another good team this year and we have as good a chance as anyone We look forward to getting to Vegas and getting started.” Edmonton advanced by defeating the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the first round and Vegas also needed six games to eliminated the Minnesota Wild Edmonton has played five playoff series since losing to Vegas in 2023 advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last season where they lost 2-1 in Game 7 to the Panthers “You learn from your failures and that [Vegas loss] was one of them,” McDavid said “Definitely we changed some things systemwise from that series The Oilers applied the lessons from the loss to the Golden Knights last season and are looking to put that knowledge to good use again Edmonton was able to battle back from 2-0 series deficit against Los Angeles and win four consecutive games understanding certain situations,” McDavid said “I think about that Game 5 (against Vegas) we had the lead and we found ourselves in a 5-on-3 and we can’t put ourselves in that position We had to grab it there and gave up three in however minutes and the game kind of flipped Those are all learning lessons along the way and hopefully we can use them moving forward in this series.” Edmonton was a playoff savvy team going into the series against Vegas in 2023 having made it to the Western Conference Final the previous season before being swept by the Colorado Avalanche The Oilers are now a battle-hardened team after nearly winning the Stanley Cup last season “They’re a division rival and they beat us and went on to win the Cup so we definitely want to even things up,” Hyman said “It’s different teams and different players but when you lose against a team you want to win it the next time.” Vegas is expected to present a different challenge to Edmonton than Los Angeles did in the first round The Golden Knights are expected to press the issue a little harder “They’re both really good teams and completely different so we have to be really careful at the [blue] lines and make sure we have guys going back They also play a completely different [defensive] zone one plays man-on-man and the other kind of zone Edmonton had a number of players recovering from injury heading into the series against Los Angels and it took a while for the team to find its rhythm Going into Vegas, Edmonton is healthy, with the exception of defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who was ruled out of the series by coach Kris Knoblauch because of an undisclosed injury. Ekholm did not play against the Kings. “I think Games 1 and 2 were definitely clunky with a lineup that hadn’t played together a whole lot,” McDavid said. “I think we’re getting more in the rhythm of things, guys are getting healthier and healthier and getting their timing back. It’s starting to look a little bit more like it’s supposed to look. I don’t think our game has been perfect, we still have a ways to go, and I expect our best coming into this series.” As big as that first round series triumph over the Kings was it ultimately means the Oilers are but a quarter of the way through their quest for the Cup We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentAnd with all due respect to L.A. the Vegas Golden Knights promise to be a much different and more dangerous opponent I firmly believe the Oilers at their best can beat any team in a seven-game contest But what does their “best” need to look like Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience The Oilers have signed D-man Alec Regula to a two-way contract extension the Oilers have been nearly unbeatable in the back-half of series According to Oilers’ broadcaster Bob Stauffer Edmonton is 22-7 from Games Four through Seven in that time was not plainly important because it ended the series It ensured that home ice in this matchup mattered truly little a squad banged up heading into the post-season having spent years covering clubs from Toronto But there are a handful of nights in a year that I would sure enjoy being in the building again It is hard to remain neutral and still say who has the best fans But the Rogers Place experience is unique to all others By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc The next issue of Headline News will soon be in your inbox Interested in more newsletters? 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Surely everyone agrees that the Oilers chances of advancing further would improve in a big way if Mattias Ekholm were ready to return The official word from the club for Round Two right now is “doubtful.” You must assume that means “maybe” if the series goes six or seven They would have been better off losing any other D-man on their team Leon Draisaitl has been nominated for the Hart Trophy Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in the game I assert to you that a goalie only wins MVP when he is head and shoulders better than his club I do not think that is the case in Winnipeg We saw some of the best hockey of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ year in the back-half of the L.A Some of that was due to his effective linemates With Evander Kane and Zach Hyman on his flanks the best of any trio on the first round from any team It is a flat-out difference maker when The Nuge’s game elevates like that It makes it way easier to pair up McDavid and Draisaitl when and wherever you need to in four consecutive series the Oilers are in rarefied air when it comes to such things only four other teams have endured what the Kings have: The 1998-2001 Oilers (against Dallas) the 1981-84 New York Rangers (Islanders) and the 1952-55 Bruins again (also versus Montreal) But has anyone equalled the fact that Edmonton has inflicted that pain with two different coaches: Jay Woodcroft in 2022 and 2023 and now Kris Knoblauch in 2024 and 2025 1.The Oilers will need to be better than they were in round one if they are to beat Vegas Not only do the Oilers have the two best players in the world whom they can deploy in numerous ways depending on the circumstances But the Oilers depth really showed up in the Kings series While momentum does not always stick from one game to another often confidence in offensive players can and does transfer from series to series I am not sure Vegas has better elite goal scorers than the Los Angeles did (Jack Eichel being the obvious exception) Calvin Pickard was the Oilers’ MVP in the L.A But is it reasonable to expect them to be able to ride this guy all the way to the cup finals he is simply not used to this sort of workload Game One against Vegas will be forty-two games this season for The Governor The last time he did that anywhere was fifty games in 2016-17 for Colorado No…I think the Oilers will need both goalies to win this series But I believe this series will ultimately be won or lost by whoever defends better That was third best in the NHL behind the Jets (190) and Kings (203) That number does not compare favorably to the Golden Knights But the Los Angeles defence was not too stingy for the Oilers to handle And I would argue that the Kings had the better goalie between Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill…but that did not change the results of Edmonton-L.A you would have to be wearing Oilers-coloured glasses to not see the issues Edmonton had while defending these past six games Evan Bouchard alone led the league in giveaways in Round one (14) and was second in defensive giveaways (8) There was not another Oilers player in the top thirty But while Oilers fans will always see the giveaways by their own club the gap between Vegas and Edmonton in this regard during the regular season favors the Oilers it is fair to say Vegas has the edge on paper when it comes to which team has the best top two D-pairings…the best available personnel But that does not always mean they will be the best transmission or republication strictly prohibited This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. 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By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy You can manage saved articles in your account Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ty Emberson has a unique role with the team this spring Emberson’s five-on-five ice time is about five minutes less than in the regular season played in all games during the recently completed series against the Los Angeles Kings but isn’t part of the regular rotation at five-on-five Part of the deployment is no doubt Emberson’s lack of NHL experience Here’s a look into the Oilers coaching staff what is valued and where those missing minutes are landing Emberson delivered two minutes per game and once again beat the rest of Edmonton’s defencemen in goal suppression so Emberson’s GA-60 (13.74) was inflated drastically compared to the regular season the results (16.17 GA-60) were even more frightening The Oilers coaching staff values Emberson on the penalty kill A quick comparison of the playoff numbers reflects a clear top three PK men Emberson’s spot in the starting lineup is secure based on these numbers and even in a period where the short-handed crews struggled against the Kings Emberson’s five-on-five minutes have declined during the postseason He’s being used sparingly compared to the regular season in the game state: Emberson’s 51 minutes five-on-five has seen Edmonton score two goals and allow one Small samples will produce such conflicting numbers but the regression suggested by the shot share is significant Emberson will probably take on more minutes next regular season and be a stronger option in the 2025 postseason Where are those minutes previously given to Emberson landing Enter Brett Kulak. He has emerged as a super utility player Coach Kris Knoblauch has identified two interesting wrinkles in his defensive units the exceptional performance of the Jake Walman and John Klingberg pairing has held sway convincing the coaches that that duo is a key element in team success Any efforts to split up the pairing seem fleeting and the duo quickly returns to working together Kulak has emerged as an elevated fifth defenceman gobbling up the Emberson minutes in an effort to outscore opponents Here are the top seven pairings by ice time during the Kings series The numbers are solid and those results come in a depth role The Kulak-Emberson duo is slightly under 50 percent in expected goals nothing alarming about that number for a third pairing it’s noteworthy that this tandem is the only one in the group that is below 50 percent expected goals Kulak can be found on three pairings of 29 minutes or more His 124 five-on-five minutes ranked him No 2 (Darnell Nurse) among Edmonton’s defencemen in the third round the expected goal share suggested that regression should be expected Some fans are frustrated with the coaching staff’s seeming stubbornness about the duo but the underlying numbers endorse staying the course Emberson’s minutes during this postseason are not guaranteed but his future with the organization looks to be safe He recently signed a two-year extension ($1.3 million annually) and figures to be in the mix for regular work next season but it’s a valuable piece of the puzzle for the Oilers coaching staff Taking advantage of Kulak’s tireless skating and improving the puck movement ability of the defence makes this deployment effective Emberson fits in perfectly due to his penalty-killing goal suppression He has provided enough quality play to stay in the lineup Why is Emberson playing less at five-on-five The Oilers’ current success is heavily based on moving the puck into the neutral zone (and enemy territory) quickly Kulak is taking Emberson’s minutes because he’s fast and (most importantly) play either side of a pairing effectively Moving Emberson down the depth chart can be justified if it’s working and Kulak went 5-3 goals (64 percent expected) with various defensive partners during the Los Angeles series The stars of the show during that run were Walman-Klingberg who outscored opponents 3-0 in 55 minutes in the first round this spring Knoblauch and his staff are so enamored with that pairing that the club is willing to deal with some uneven play from the Nurse-Bouchard pair The pairing may face even more difficult challenges against the Vegas Golden Knights in the next series and the coaching staff likely to run Nurse-Bouchard and Walman-Klingberg as the top two pairings the role of Kulak becomes even more important Troy Stecher may be inserted into the lineup at some point with the Oilers possibly running seven defencemen in games All of this is designed to keep the club in the playoffs until Ekholm returns the Oilers will run the pairings envisioned at the trade deadline Allan Mitchell is a contributor to The Athletic's Oilers coverage. Veteran radio broadcast. His blog, Lowetide, has chronicled the team since 2005. Follow Allan on Twitter @Lowetide Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account Katheryn Speck said she used to be a Canadian nationalist travelled the world with a maple leaf on her backpack and once lived in Quebec so she could become fluently bilingual We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle contentBut on Saturday she was among hundreds of people who rallied at the Alberta legislature to support separation from Canada with many in the crowd waving Alberta flags and a few even displaying the U.S I’m literally crushed that we’ll never be represented in this country and there’s never a chance of changing the government,” Speck said Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox Premier Danielle Smith’s government proposed legislation that would lower the bar for holding a referendum While Smith told reporters she won’t presuppose what questions Albertans might bring to a ballot the move would make it easier for citizens to call for a vote to secede from Canada The federal Liberals’ election win Monday has also prompted some people in the province to demand an exit Speck said the National Energy Policy of the 1980s eroded her Canadian pride a decade of Liberal policies that she said have blocked pipelines and stymied the province’s energy industry have her thinking there’s no fix under Confederation a 17-year-old who attended Saturday’s rally said she might have felt differently about separation if the Conservatives had won I feel we’d have a lot more hope than a third or fourth Liberal term which is just going to ruin our country,” Henze said said Canadians are worried about losing auto manufacturing jobs due to U.S but they don’t seem concerned about protecting jobs in Alberta’s oil and gas sector “I don’t see how a province like Quebec takes all of our dirty money but they won’t let a dirty pipeline go through Quebec to aid an oil refinery in New Brunswick,” Jensen said A few dozen counter-protesters attempted to drown out the rally many holding signs saying that separation would violate treaties with First Nations Piikani Nation Chief Troy Knowlton said in a letter earlier this week that it’s understandable many in the West are frustrated their rejection of the federal Liberal party in the election didn’t play out elsewhere But he said Alberta doesn’t have the authority to interfere with or negate treaties On her provincewide radio call-in show on Saturday the premier said she fully respects treaty rights “Everything I do is changing Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa First Nations have their own relationship with Ottawa and that’s enshrined in treaty Smith threatened a “national unity crisis” if the next prime minister doesn’t acquiesce to a list of her demands within six months but reiterated this week that she supports a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada Rally attendee Susan Westernaier said she believed everything would be better if Alberta separated noting she believed Monday’s election was rigged This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Tensions ran high as a rally for Alberta independence Saturday drew hundreds to the legislative grounds in support of the province separating from Canada following the federal election earlier this week, in which the Liberals won. Alongside the rally, a counter-protest also took place, organized by members of Alberta’s Indigenous community. “We’re hoping to inform Albertans why independence is important for Alberta,” said Jeevan Mangat, a volunteer with the organizing committee. “For too long—60 years—I’ve grown up in Alberta, and we have been dominated by eastern politicians and eastern politics. Our resources have been landlocked since Justin Trudeau got in. So we wish to be in charge, as Albertans, of our own nation.” “This is our land,” said Elder Taz, the counter-protest organizer. “Your family came here from somewhere else; your ancestors came here from somewhere else. My family started here. Have some respect.” Jeevan Mangat, one of the spokespeople for the Rally for Alberta Independence, says the group is focused on collecting enough signatures to trigger a referendum. The movement has been acknowledged by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and has gained momentum since the federal election results. “The purpose of this rally is that we’re totally focused on the independence of Alberta first,” said Mangat. “And First Nations is first. That means, step two, we will be negotiating with First Nations. By law, we cannot ignore them. By law, we have to sit and negotiate with them after the referendum passes—and in turn, they have to come and talk to us as well.” Taz, the organizer of the counter-protest, says she is very happy with the results of the federal election. She says she will continue to voice her support for Alberta remaining part of Canada. “We worked hard to get Mark Carney in. It was the Indigenous vote that was the deciding vote,” said Taz. “People don’t know that. We don’t normally vote. But when we have to, we will—to swing it our way. We want the person who will work with us, who will make things better, who understands what treaty means, and who understands the need to represent Canada at our treaty talks.” Earlier this week, Smith tabled a bill that would lower the number of required signatures to trigger a referendum from 20 percent of eligible voters to 10 percent—177,000 signatures. Two First Nations chiefs issued a statement opposing separation talks, saying the premier is attempting to manufacture a national unity crisis. There has not yet been any confirmation from Smith that a referendum will, in fact, happen. Premier Danielle Smith says she will address Albertans Monday on a "path forward with the federal government" after a meeting with her caucus. A jury has found a Calgary man guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a woman on a downtown street three years ago. After more measles cases were confirmed in Alberta, Health Minister Adriana Lagrange will be providing a measles update Monday. A man who sped away after Calgary police attempted a traffic stop is facing charges after crashing into a Radisson home Friday. On the same day as the Alberta Rally for Independence, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith appeared on her radio show, addressing many topics. A 23-year-old man, Chase Jordan, is facing numerous charges after fleeing a traffic stop and crashing into a house in Calgary’s Radisson area late Friday night. Around 4pm, Calgary Fire, RCMP, as well as water helicopters, were called to the scene near the Woodland Close and Lochend Road intersection. The annual Calgary Bike Swap filled downtown Calgary with bike buzz on Saturday. Carlene Sorensen reports on the event. A fire in Calgary’s Ramsay area significantly damaged one home and spread to a neighboring house. Now News and Improved! Watch CityNews, listen to NewsRadio Calgary live anytime and get up-to-the-minute breaking-news alerts, traffic, weather and video from CityNews Calgary anywhere you are – across all Android and iOS devices. Maybe Albertans should have taken Danielle Smith’s advice to Edmonton after the last provincial election: Edmonton should have voted for the party that would win. If we had followed that advice, we would have a Liberal majority in Alberta and would get a “fair deal.” The difference is, I believe Mark Carney when he says he will represent all of Canada. I don’t believe Danielle Smith when she says she represents all of Alberta. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. I hear our current premier, and others, bemoan the premise that our province is being taken advantage of by others in Canada. Perhaps the premier is too young to remember when Alberta was considered a have-not province that depended on support from other provinces. separate unit rather than be a member of a united Canada fighting together for the betterment of the entire country If the governments could work together instead of constantly challenging each other Canadians’ faith and trust may be affirmed in governance for all as is evident in the deals made with the U.S When I hear their leaders crow about military support troops came into Canada because we were under attack I can remember the times when Canadians have come to the U.S.’s need for assistance: 9/11 I’d also appreciate to have my tax dollars used for our benefit and not for the premier to go globe-trotting to raise funds for the right-wingers in Florida As a senior I wholeheartedly agree with Cheryll Watson’s opinion piece It almost appears the city administration is deterring people from visiting the downtown core I used to visit downtown on Sundays and have lunch in one of their fine establishments and now they created another hurdle by forcing people to download yet another app on one’s cellphone It is either an oversight by the administration or is it because an app developer sold them a bill of goods it is somewhat reminiscent of the overpriced ArriveCan app (initial cost $80,000 final cost almost $60 million) where the federal government was under the impression all travellers own a cellphone The city should have adhered to the old adage Police are investigating after a head-on collision between a truck and an SUV in west Edmonton on Thursday night killed a 46-year-old man a 2024 Ford Bronco was travelling west on Yellowhead Trail near Winterburn Road when it crossed the median into the eastbound lane and collided with a 2018 Ford F-350 Police said the Bronco ended up flipping on its side and catching fire The 46-year-old man driving the Bronco died on scene driving the pick-up truck along with a 43-year-old woman and nine-year-old boy were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries The EPS major crime investigation section is continuing their investigation Sign In Register EDMONTON, Alta. – A Saskatoon man has been identified as the victim in a west Edmonton homicide earlier this week, and a 21-year-old Edmonton man is now facing a charge of second-degree murder. Emanuelle Moraga, 33, was found dead inside a vehicle in the area of 56 Avenue and 199 Street shortly after midnight on April 29. Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers from the West Branch responded to reports of a disturbance at approximately 12:15 a.m., where they discovered Moraga deceased at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the death were deemed suspicious, and two males were taken into custody the same day. Police indicated they were not seeking additional suspects at the time. On May 1, the Edmonton Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Moraga died from multiple gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide. Following an investigation by the EPS Homicide Section, Tolga Boyaci, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder. The second male taken into custody has since been released without charges. Police have not released details on the events leading up to the shooting, and the investigation remains ongoing. Police have charged a 21-year-old man with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a 33-year-old man in west Edmonton earlier this week officers responded to a disturbance in the area of 56 Avenue and 199 Street Officers located a vehicle with a man dead inside and the death was determined to be suspicious and police said they aren’t looking for any other suspects involved at this time An autopsy was conducted on Thursday and it was determined that Emanuelle Moraga of Saskatoon died of multiple gunshot wounds Police have laid charges against one of the men taken into custody of Edmonton has been charged with second-degree murder The other man who was initially taken into custody along with Boyaci has been released EdmontonNewsShopping, shows and sunshine: Here’s what’s happening in and around Edmonton this weekendBy Steven DyerPublished: May 02, 2025 at 5:42PM EDT Twitter feed ©2025 BellMedia All Rights Reserved AB – The NHL has announced the schedule for the second-round series between the Oilers and Golden Knights which is set to begin on Tuesday at 7:30pm MT at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Edmonton and Vegas will meet in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three years after the Golden Knights eliminated the Oilers in six games in 2023 en route to capturing the first Stanley Cup title in their franchise history A limited number of tickets for home playoff games are now available at EdmontonOilers.com/Tickets Tickets for the Rogers Road Game Watch Party for Games 1 and 2 inside Rogers Place are now available at EdmontonOilers.com/WatchParty The Panel recaps the Kings series & looks ahead to Round 2 vs the Pacific Division title will be decided by a series between the Golden Knights and Oilers with Vegas putting on a defensive clinic to limit the Oilers’ two superstars to win the series in six who had just one assist in the final four games Campbell Bowl from them the following season Both teams had to deal with a bit of adversity in the first round this season, and while their backs were never against the wall, they looked to be in trouble, and partially because of their goaltending. Vegas had the Minnesota Wild shock them early on in their series going down 2-1 with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy particularly running rampant and Adin Hill struggled mightily in the crease But Hill clamped down in the final three games and the Golden Knights held Kaprizov and Boldy to a combined three points to win three straight and win the series Meanwhile, the Oilers were in even worse trouble, facing a 2-0 hole against the Los Angeles Kings and dealing with even worse goaltending issues in Stuart Skinner But they pivoted to Calvin Pickard in Game 3 and after a couple of ugly wins in Edmonton to tie the series they locked in and dominated in the final two games to close out the series both this season and in the past as the Western Conference’s two most recent representatives in the Final Will the Golden Knights find a way to stifle the Oilers again or will Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl be too much this time It was a relatively even series between the Golden Knights and Oilers as they split the four games over the course of the season The first three games took place before the middle of December with Vegas taking the first two by scores of 4-2 and 1-0 and Edmonton winning the last one with a more dominant 6-3 score The two teams did get into one game after the trade deadline when they looked more like their current selves with the Oilers taking the game by a score of 3-2 Jake Walman was the lone deadline acquisition from either team to contribute to the scoresheet scoring the first of Edmonton’s three goals and his first and so far only goal as an Oiler Everyone knows that a series with the Oilers will be the McDavid-Draisaitl show and their top-end offense is easily their biggest advantage in this series If the Golden Knights have any chance of matching it they’ll need Eichel to play like the guy who was drafted one pick behind McDavid It feels weird to say that a team’s top scorer is their X-factor but when you’re up against two game-breaking talents you need your top scorer to be your top scorer and early on that nearly cost them when Kaprizov and Boldy were giving the Golden Knights fits while Eichel went pointless in the first three games He picked things up with five points in the final three games He doesn’t need to go video game mode like McDavid and Draisaitl to do so (for example he had 9 points in 6 games in their 2023 series) but one goal and five points in six games isn’t enough The Golden Knights had one of the best offenses in the league during the regular season with a 3.34 goals for per game (5th in the league) and a 28.3% power play% (2nd) and that matched under the hood with a 2.77 5v5 expected goals for per 60 minutes (5th) and a 9.53 PP xGF/60 (8th) a 2.5 5v5 xGF/60 (8th) and a 8.29 PP xGF/60 (10th) although their power play percentage has stayed about the same at 27.8% (tied for 7th) That step back offensively showcased itself a bit in the output from some of the Golden Knights’ players in the first round Eichel and Stone still led the team in scoring A bit more is expected from them in this series against the Oilers Vegas’ depth scoring was much better against Minnesota They got at least three points from nine players It also has to be promising for Vegas that all five players with just two points have the potential to have bigger impacts: Pavel Dorofeyev The Oilers had a few more struggles in the regular season offensively as they had more human numbers with a 3.16 GF/G (11th in the league) and a 23.7% PP% (12th) their underlying numbers didn’t quite back that up with a 2.88 5v5 xGF/60 (2nd) and a 9.37 PP xGF/60 (10th) and that’s come to fruition in the playoffs Edmonton’s offense returned to the god-like levels that we expect from them a 3.44 5v5 xGF/60 (1st) and a 14.72 PP xGF/60 (2nd) That’s led by Connor McDavid’s (I say this loosely) “return to form” after a more human regular season that saw him only just hit 100 points he looked like the player that won the Conn Smythe last year while Draisaitl built off his stellar regular season with 10 points The real player who had a return to form offensively was Evan Bouchard and currently leads the team in goals with four The Oilers also have similar depth scoring totals on their team as along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman looking more like themselves Connor Brown and Vasily Podkolzin also finished with at least four points in the series the Oilers had 11 players total with three points and 16 with two the players in those contribution ranges for the Oilers are players expected to be there outside of a few players who could play bigger roles like Evander Kane there isn’t quite as much upside compared to that of the players you expect to contribute more on Vegas’ side The Golden Knights’ defense wasn’t quite as consistent as their offense in the regular season (mostly due to a 75.7% penalty kill that ranked 26th in the league) but it was still quite sharp above and under the hood with a 2.61 goals against per game (third in the league) and a 2.42 5v5 expected goals against per 60 (tied for ninth) Even their penalty kill underlying numbers were good with an 8.11 shorthanded XGA/60 (8th); they just dealt with the 7th-worst shorthanded save percentage in the league at 83.04% their 5v5 defense carried over under the hood with a 2.36 5v5 XGA/60 (5th) that didn’t translate to their actual goals against Their penalty kill didn’t really improve at 76.9% (tied for 6th) but the process for that did get a bit worse with an 11.35 SH xGA/60 (12th) While Stone gets a lot of the attention among Golden Knights’ forwards for his defensive prowess Karlsson has been their best forward in that regard this season Not only did he finish the season with a 3.4 defensive GAR he held that Kaprizov/Boldy duo to just two goals and less than one expected goal at 5v5 Karlsson started with Smith and Olofsson before moving up alongside Eichel and Stone later in the series The Saad/Hertl/Dorofeyev unit also played very well with a 69.12% 5v5 xGF% Vegas leaned heavily on Alex Pietrangelo and Noah Hanifin to play the shutdown role and while it wasn’t met with the exact same success as putting Karlsson against Kaprizov/Boldy it still did a good enough job to get them the series win Where that Minnesota duo particularly feasted on the Golden Knights’ blueline was against Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb as that pair thrived in an environment of trading chances instead of shutdown defense If Edmonton continues to roll McDavid and Draisaitl together Bruce Cassidy could work to hide the Theodore/McNabb pair from them but Vegas will have to hope that the pair can improve their game for this series if they don’t want to be victimized Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Hague are as solid of a bottom pair as they come and can hold their own if they get trapped in tough matchups the regular season saw them take a step back from their Cup Final form a year ago to a more mediocre defensive game They finished the year with a 2.87 GA/G (14th) With their go-to shutdown defenseman out for the start of the playoffs (including this series) While they had a similar 5v5 xGA/60 with 2.45 (tied for 7th) against the Kings Some of the straight goal numbers are inflated by their goaltending Part of that has been because of the play of the makeshift top pair of Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse While their 52.3% 5v5 expected goal share against the Kings isn’t horrible Bouchard actually has a 69.29% rate away from Nurse so it feels like a waste of your best defenseman In his time with Jake Walman and Brett Kulak he had a respective 57.77% and 79.13% share which feels like a much better use of those minutes Walman has surprisingly seen more success with John Klingberg (71.14% 5v5 xGF% playing against the Kings’ top six) but Kulak was so-so in a similar role with Ty Emberson (47.91%) so perhaps a switch up there is in order since Ekholm’s not going to be a saving grace The best part about the Oilers defense is the fact that their two forwards who play half the game in McDavid and Draisaitl have evolved their two-way game to overwhelm opponents offensively and defensively It makes for a nightmare matchup for anyone especially when they can’t at least exploit them defensively like teams used to be able to Hyman and Kane was also good in a shutdown role in a bend-don’t-break matter They did get outplayed a bit in the shot attempts department (46.88% 5v5 shot attempt share) but held down the fort in terms of the prime chances (74.96% 5v5 xGF%) The Trent Frederic/Adam Henrique/Connor Brown played similarly well despite getting caught up in tough minutes while the fourth line of Viktor Arvidsson/Mattias Janmark/Vasily Podkolzin has been adequate Hill was good enough for the Golden Knights in the regular season finishing the year with a .906 save percentage and an 11.79 goals saved above expected but it was a tale of two goalies in the first round The first three games against Minnesota were a bit rocky with a .827 SV% and a -2.97 GSAx but he flipped that around in the final three games to a more modest .918 SV% and 1.9 GSAx against an offense as daunting as the Oilers’ Vegas will need him in a similar form to these two teams’ previous matchup in 2023 when he stepped in and sported a .934 SV% and 5.56 GSAx The Oilers also had a tale of two goalies in net in their series Skinner also had a good enough season for the Oilers with a .895 SV% that was more due to the Edmonton’s defensive play in front of him which saw him get lit up for 11 goals in two games with an .810 SV% and a -2.71 GSAx That meant that the Oilers had to turn to Pickard if they wanted to stay alive down 2-0 to the Kings he was good enough to get the job done with an .893 SV% and -0.62 GSAx The Golden Knights aren’t dealing with a ton of injuries and might actually be fully healthy going into Game 1 he’s day-to-day with a return for Game 1 on Tuesday up in the air but I’d imagine he returns to the series at some point The Oilers also don’t have a ton of injuries but the one that they are missing is a big one Ekholm has already been confirmed out for the second round so the Oilers blueline will have to hold down the fort without him the Golden Knights don’t have a pressing need to win this season and 13 players from that team are on this year’s roster Even looking through their roster this season, Tanner Pearson and Brandon Saad are the oldest players that weren’t on the 2023 team, and they won Cups previously with the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. The “old guy without a Cup” on this team is Tomas Hertl, who’s only 31 and is still locked in for five more seasons after this one. Speaking of contracts, the Golden Knights also aren’t due for a cap crunch this offseason either. A majority of their core is locked up, with their best player with a pending free agent status being Hague, but a rising cap gives them almost $9 million to get that done. Sure, they have to fill in some of the holes with their forward depth as well, but that’s the easy part. Basically, the only concern for Vegas is the fact that they’re getting older every year, so the window will slam shut eventually, especially with their lack of draft and prospect capital. But the bill shouldn’t come due for a little while. For the Oilers, it’s the exact opposite. They fell one game short of winning the Stanley Cup last year, and as the Amazon Prime documentary showed us, they’re pissed off and hungry for more. No one wants that more than McDavid and Draisaitl, and you already got the sense from their first round series against the Kings that they’ll carry this team as far as they can to make that happen. But in the wake of that loss, they doubled down on what was the oldest roster last season, and made it even older this year. Along with the fact that the $24.9 million allocated to McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard is set to almost double in about 14 months time, this roster probably won’t be able to stick together for too much longer. And they don’t have the prospect pool to replace that either. Basically, Vegas comes into this series without a lot of high stakes, while they’re about as high as they can be for Edmonton. Does that allow the Golden Knights to be calm and poised, and pick apart a panicking Oilers team, or will the Oilers’ desperation give them an extra step to pull off the win? Last round, I predicted that the Kings would finally best the Oilers and win a series. I doubted McDavid, Draisaitl and co. and went with the surprise pick, and it burned me. I’ve learned my lesson this time around, right? nowFeatured Video - 10 videosVideo5:43 Canadians retrace their fathers’ footsteps in the NetherlandsThe National |9 hours agoVideo1:59 Trump repeats 51st state taunt as Carney prepares for White House visitThe National |1 hour agoVideo10:02 How GM job cuts could impact OshawaCBC News |May 4Video2:23 Air Canada flight credit stolen, used for stranger’s luxury trip | Go PublicThe National |1 hour agoVideo2:31 Crowds line streets to thank Canadian veterans in NetherlandsCBC News |May 3Video2:05 Gaza faces starvation crisis as Israel blockade enters third monthThe National |9 hours agoVideo2:01 Adidas launches new shoe tailored for people with Down syndromeThe National |9 hours agoVideo11:28 It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem The Edmonton Oilers entered the postseason with more roster questions than any true Stanley Cup contender this spring ineffective play from veterans was a real concern and the goaltending was a question mark coach Kris Knoblauch found solutions from the available roster players Goaltending was solved by inserting backup Calvin Pickard Knoblauch did it during the Vancouver Canucks series one year ago so the transition from Stuart Skinner to Pickard wasn’t shocking to anyone What has been a surprise is the quality of Pickard’s performances and Skinner’s return date is unknown (although likely if the team continues deep into the playoffs) Perhaps the biggest concern surrounded how to replace injured defenceman Mattias Ekholm He’s slated to return to the roster at some point this spring but the team needs to win games without him in the interim After the completion of the six-game series against Los Angeles the questions about how to replace Ekholm remain Ekholm is a strong two-way player and the ideal partner for Evan Bouchard Edmonton’s outstanding puck-moving defenceman In the first two games of the playoff series versus the Los Angeles Kings Knoblauch and his staff (the defence is led by coaches Paul Coffey and Mark Stuart) came under heavy criticism for the deployment of the defensive pairings at five-on-five Fans were unhappy with the Darnell Nurse and Bouchard pairing due mostly to coverage problems for the tandem Both men allowed Los Angeles forwards to wander behind them and the club paid in full during the early portion of the series The obvious solution was to move Jake Walman to the Bouchard pairing and check down Nurse to play with Brett Kulak the only change Knoblauch made early came when switching out Josh Brown after Game 1 and inserting John Klingberg (the numbers above for the pairing are from a single game) the coaching staff had some decisions to make Here are the pairings for Game 3 and Game 4 combined: owing at least in part to facing tougher competition the second and third pairings shone like a diamond The pairing of Walman and Klingberg has been exceptional the duo scorched Los Angeles 16-4 shots five-on-five with a 94 percent expected goal share in the metric The team’s outlets have been tweaked in at least a couple of ways the team is deploying an old-timey strategy in having the centre come down low (with speed) and take a handoff from the defenceman in possession of the puck Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can easily beat the forecheck going full speed and have the advantage of less traffic once hitting the neutral zone the passing by defencemen from deep in the zone is more effective because there is often more than one attractive passing option The Oilers don’t have two forwards lingering in the neutral zone in search of a jailbreak pass The result is more control, and more consistent breakouts since the start of Game 3. How much have the changes improved the results? Meghan Chayka from Stathletes tracks the evidence and it was devastating for the Kings in the middle games of the series Knoblauch and his staff deployed seven unique pairings that played three or more minutes together The dizzying changes may also be impacted by the lack of response from Los Angeles but the results in Game 5 didn’t identify a true weak link among the seven pairings: it appeared the pairings worked and the coverage plus outlet passing issues were solved but there are questions about the defence as the team prepares for the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round The performances were decidedly less impressive than in Games 3 through 5: The most used pairing in the closing game of the series matched what fans were demanding but both the first and second pairings struggled against a determined Los Angeles squad Nurse-Bouchard had solid numbers during the game (although the actual results were poor) giving the coaches another combination to ponder It’s difficult to look at a series clinching victory with a negative eye but the reads and gaps will need to be much better in the next series As the team sets the lines and pairings for Vegas there are several things that should be addressed Nurse had a high event series with some loose coverage that is reflected by eye and math When the big defenceman was on the ice at five-on-five during the Kings’ series Evan Bouchard had similar totals: 8-3 goals for Edmonton when Bouchard was at rest outscored 11-7 when Bouchard was on the ice the pairing delivered 3-7 goals on the ice at five-on-five That reflects coverage issues and misreads by the pairing Nurse and Bouchard have the same weakness (read and react The questions around the defence appear to have gone full circle in one six-game series The easy answer is placing Ekholm on the Bouchard pairing and then running the strongest combination of Nurse Ekholm could return from injury at some point during May Knoblauch’s ongoing search for what works receives another best-of-seven series to continue the experiments. A good guess has Nurse and Bouchard on separate pairings in Game 1 against the Golden Knights Kevin Fiala and Evan Bouchard: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images) This isn’t exactly the same thirst for revenge that the Los Angeles Kings just felt when they came face-to-face with the team that punted them out of the playoffs for three-straight years Facing the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the playoffs means revisiting a few scars of their own we definitely want to even things up,” said Oilers winger Zach Hyman It was just two years ago that the Oilers were tied 2-2 in the series and leading 2-1 in the second period of Game 5 on the road when they gave up three goals in 1:29 dream-killing collapse from which they never recovered whose as excited about the rematch as anyone They’re a great team and it was only a couple of years ago that they beat us There’s been a lot of playoff water under the bridge since that painful night but you still can’t help wondering what might have been Vegas blew through the rest of the playoffs beating Dallas in six games (including 4-0 and 6-0 wins) and Florida in five to lift their first and only Stanley Cup If the Oilers hadn’t let that series slip away they might be the ones wearing the rings today The next issue of Oil Spills will soon be in your inbox What they do know is that they can’t let it happen again “You have to learn from your failures and that was one of them,” said McDavid adding it forced the Oilers to re-examine what they do as a team “It definitely changed some things for us system-wise we had the lead and found ourselves on a five-on-three (short-handed) We gave up three in however many minutes and the game kind of flipped All lessons learned along the way and hopefully we can use them in this series.” Only nine of Edmonton’s 18 skaters remain from that series and the Oilers have a trip of their own to the Stanley Cup Final to draw from and whichever team emerges from this will see its Stanley Cup odds improve dramatically “We’re a totally different team with a lot of different players but this group is finding its identity,” said Hyman “It’s the first time in a while that we’re healthy We’re still missing a big piece (Mattias Ekholm) but up front we have a lot of different looks we can run We’re finding what our identity is and what makes us successful We’re rounding our team into form at the right time.” The Oilers do look a lot better going into Round 2 than they did going into Round 1 gaining momentum and feeling much more confident about what they are as a team a lineup that hadn’t played together a whole lot,” said McDavid guys are getting healthier and getting their timing back “It’s starting to look a little bit like it’s supposed to look I expect our best coming into this series.” anything less than your best gets you sent packing no matter who his team is playing in the second round head coach Kris Knoblauch expects the exact same thirst “I see a bunch of guys who are motivated no matter who our opponent is,” he said “Maybe there was some hatred (toward Vegas) but I would think that no matter who we were playing our guys would be in the same frame of mind they are right now.” EDMONTON - Connor Brown had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers punched their ticket through to the second round of the playoffs with a wild 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman and Trent Frederic each had a goal and an assist and Adam Henrique also scored for the Oilers Edmonton won four straight to take the best-of-seven series in six games. The Oilers will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar replied for the Kings who have now been booted by the Oilers in the first round in four consecutive seasons.  Los Angeles hasn’t won a playoff series since 2014, when it defeated the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup Calvin Pickard made 23 saves in net to record the win, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 23-of-28 shots for the Kings The goals came fast and furious to start the contest with four goals in the first six minutes. The Kings scored on their first shot just 1:19 into the first period as Kevin Fiala sprung Byfield on a breakaway and he sent his third of the post-season past Pickard Edmonton tied it up 3:04 into the first frame as Brown took a shot through traffic that hit Henrique up high and caromed into the net for his first of the playoffs the Kings responded just 33 seconds later on just their third shot on Pickard as a low percentage shot from Clarke appeared to deflect off Nurse’s stick and went up high and in for his second of the series The Oilers tied it up again at the 5:55 mark of the opening period on the power play as Connor McDavid made a nice cross-ice feed to Nugent-Hopkins and he rifled in his third goal It was the fastest four goals of any game all season and Edmonton became the first team in NHL history to record two game-tying goals in the opening six minutes of a playoff game Edmonton took its first lead with seven minutes to play in the frenetic first as a long shot by Nurse was deflected in by Hyman for his second to make it 3-2 The Oilers grabbed a two-goal lead with five minutes left in the second period as Nurse took his time before beating Kuemper with a wicked wrister from distance for his first of the post-season Edmonton then padded its lead with 3:25 to play in the middle frame as Brown dropped it back to trade deadline acquisition Frederic and he recorded his first as an Oiler The Kings made it 5-3 with two minutes left in the second as Spence scored his first on a one-timer from the slot Los Angeles pushed hard in the third and got within one with their goalie pulled and 55 seconds remaining as a Drew Doughty point shot hit Kopitar’s stick on its way into the net But Brown put the series away with an empty-netter as two seconds remained This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1 EDMONTON — The Elks have made a series of moves in advance of next week’s Rookie Camp Edmonton has signed American quarterback William McElvain 185) joins the Green and Gold after spending the previous three seasons at the University of Central Arkansas (2022 to 2024) Iowa product completed 610 of 965 passes (63 per cent) for 7,163 yards McElvain spent four years at the University of Northern Iowa — redshirting in 2018 before dressing in 24 games from 2019 to 2021 McElvain set the school’s freshman passing record with 2,778 yards and 20 touchdowns He was named to the 2019 All-Newcomer Team and was named to the Phil Steele Freshman All-American Third Team © 2025 CFL ENTERPRISES LP. All rights reserved. Terms Of Use Privacy Policy Sign In Subscribe Now Become a free member today and receive top local stories right to your inbox A Red Deer man is now a millionaire after winning the Edmonton Oilers 50-50 draw the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation announced Kyle Thibeault won nearly $3.2 million through the first 50-50 draw of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs In an interview with Oilers TV, Thibeault called his winnings "life-changing." "I'm 51 years old and I don't have to work again if I invest the money properly It's a feeling that you can't even imagine how it feels until it happens to you," Thibeault told Oilers TV Thibeault said he will purchase a yellow Lamborghini and a house and then will invest the rest of his winnings His mother encouraged him to buy a ticket for this particular 50-50 draw so he will also be sending her on a trip to Hawaii 'You know I've got a good feeling that you're going to win so you better buy a 50-50.' And you know what I bought the 50-50 immediately and next things you know I'm holding a $3.2-million cheque," he said Thibeault told Oilers TV about how he learned of his 50-50 win "My girlfriend gets up to go to work at 5:30 in the morning she took the dogs out and I rolled over and grabbed my phone I looked at the winning number and thought I think that's my number,'" said Thibeault My eyes went large and I jumped out to bed and said 'I actually won the 50-50.' I showed her my phone and said he called his mom to tell her he won the 50-50 draw Her response was, "Well I told you that you were going to win it," Thibeault said My mom's positivity and her being such a great mother to me over my lifetime .. manifested into what she told me was going to happen," he said For more information on the Oilers 50-50, visit www.nhl.com/oilers Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines EDMONTON — There’s an old story in the sports writing business when his team was getting beaten roundly by some opponent If you could ever see the copy that doesn’t make it to the end of a game The things that get written when it’s 10:15 p.m and they haven’t even started the third period yet when us writers “pound in a few ‘graphs” for a game story that we think we’re going to be filing in a couple of hour's time After the podium interviews and the TV hits with Gene when our poor editor is sitting by their laptop at 3 a.m Eastern awaiting something resembling cogent prose Let’s go back to Game 3 of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series The Oilers had allowed 12 goals in losing Games 1 and 2. Their penalty kill had surrendered five goals in 10 opportunities, and other than a spasm of Connor McDavid brilliance in the third period of Game 1 the Kings had completely controlled the series the Kings are leading 4-3 on a couple more power-play goals and the words coming off this keyboard were every bit as bleak “You just can’t win with this goaltending.” but you can’t figure out a way to kill penalties then how can the path lead to anywhere else but the golf course?” and the writer did the ol’ define and delete boogie setting up a second-round series between Vegas and an Oilers team that has an entirely different vibe than the one we almost wrote about that night “(We didn’t know) what our lines were going to be like Who was going to be playing well…” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch especially in Vegas (where) they’ve got last change I’ll have a better understanding than I did two weeks ago.” Edmonton gets on a plane bound for Vegas Monday as a vastly superior team to the one that opened Round 1 in L.A (Edmonton scored nine goals in Games 5 and 6 v They’ve found chemistry that simply did not exist here in Edmonton for the past three months, and enough defensive structure that their backup — Calvin Pickard — has become the only goalie in these Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-0 record. “This group is finding its identity. For the first time in a while, we’re healthier than usual, though still missing a big piece (in Mattias Ekholm),” said Zach Hyman. “But up front, we have a lot of different lines that we can run, different lineups. We’re finding what our identity is, and what makes us successful. “I think we’re rounding our team into form at the right time.” In the space of one round, the Oilers have transformed from a dinged-up team that hadn’t performed like a true contender, to a team that deserves another look. Maybe, as it enters its 11th playoff round in the past four springs, this reigning Stanley Cup Finalist is just taking a different road to the same place. “We’ve got as good a chance as anyone,” said McDavid, who looks back on a Round 2 loss two years ago to a Vegas team that went on to win the Cup. It’s three years running now that the Oilers have been eliminated by the eventual Cup winner. “We’re certainly more experienced. If that puts us in a better spot, great,” he said. “Experience isn’t everything, but it’s definitely helpful when you’re going against a veteran team like Vegas, that is also very experienced and has played in big moments.” How can the first 10 series’ help a team win the 11th one? “Managing the game better, understanding certain situations,” said McDavid, looking back to that six-game loss to the Golden Knights in ’23. “It’s years ago now, but I think about that Game 5 — we have the lead, and find ourselves (defending) a five-on-three. We gave up three in (1:29) there, and the game is flipped. “All lessons learned along the way, and hopefully we use them moving forward in this series.” Everywhere we wrote “I think?” Can you change that to “I thought? Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2 Preview: Oilers vs. Golden KnightsOilers’ Mattias Ekholm doubtful to play in Round 2COMMENTS When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time. it at least appears as if Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will not screw with a good thing The Oilers hit their stride with this configuration against L.A Kris Knoblauch has frequently practiced one version of his lineup and played the other who was not coaching when Vegas eliminated Edmonton a couple seasons back: “I just see a bunch of that are as always motivated No matter who our opponent is (sic) my perspective I would think that no matter who we are playing our guys would be in this frame of mind as they are right now” On a healthier lineup as opposed to the start of the L.A series: “I wasn’t really sure what we were going to have just with guys coming back from injury” we’re going to have to adjust especially in Vegas they’ve got last change” Knoblauch notes how different The Golden Knights roster and systems are than L.A. and concluded “It’s going to be a much different series” Kane and Hyman being so productive against Los Angeles (xGoals% of 76.6 in Round One) it affords Knoblauch the opportunity to stick with McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line this could change from game-to-game and shift-to-shift went on to win the cup so definitely want to even things up Hyman added “This group (the Oilers) is finding its identity Its the first time in a while we are healthier than we usually are (but) we’re still missing a big piece obviously on the back end but up front obviously we have a lot of different looks” on facing Vegas: “Look forward to it obviously It was only a couple years ago when they beat us McDavid added “Looking forward to getting to Vegas and getting started Gotta find a way to start the series better”” At some point Stuart Skinner needs to play again but makes sense (again) for Pickard to at least get Game One Impossible to argue that he has not earned it Oilers broadcaster Bob Stauffer listed Pickard first Pickard: “We gotta be detailed and limit our mistakes cause Vegas is a well-rounded team with basically everything Knoblauch: “We’ll make that announcement (starter) before Game One” wondered if Troy Stecher would draw back in it would seem…even though Emberson has seen limited minutes (7:05 TOI in Game Six) But Stecher is now a healthy option (as he was in Game Six -Jeff Skinner remains in the press box despite a solid Game One I support running a winning lineup right back out there The Best-of-Seven series with the Golden Knights begins Tuesday in Vegas Game Three will be Saturday at Rogers Place 2025) – The National Hockey League announced today the schedule for the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs The Pacific Division champion Vegas Golden Knights will face the Edmonton Oilers in a best-of-seven series that opens on Tuesday Puck drop between Vegas and Edmonton on Tuesday for Game 1 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m Fans can watch the series on ESPN or TBS (U.S.) and Sportsnet or TVA (Canada) All seven games will be broadcast on the VGK Radio Network presented by Lee’s Discount Liquor 1340 AM) and in Spanish on Deportes Vegas (1460 AM) EdmontonNewsOilers, Golden Knights start second-round NHL playoff series on Tuesday in VegasBy Craig EllingsonUpdated: May 04, 2025 at 2:35PM EDT In a pin-drop-quiet visitors’ dressing room inside Edmonton’s Rogers Place on Thursday night Adrian Kempe offered a reminder of just how close the Los Angeles Kings had come to finally getting past the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs the Kings lost four consecutive games to the Oilers perhaps none more crushing than the season-ending Game 6 It was a series that spilled out of their hands when it could have been in the firmest of grips “I think this year it was because we couldn’t close the games out,” Kempe said We had about nine or 10 tries at it where we didn’t get it But it would have been different momentum going into Game 5 and Game 6 I think that was the biggest difference-maker The Kings played well enough to beat the Oilers — until they didn’t thanks in part to questionable player usage by coach Jim Hiller Instead of playing Edmonton in Game 7 at home on Saturday or even preparing for Game 1 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights And what do you do when the objective of playoff advancement once again isn’t met Exit meetings are expected to occur on Monday as the Kings head into the offseason searching for more answers after a fourth consecutive first-round exit Let’s look at five key areas that must be addressed before training camp The Kings’ last management change took place one day after the 2016-17 season when Dean Lombardi was ousted as general manager (along with head coach Darryl Sutter) and Rob Blake was promoted from his assistant GM role who doesn’t have a playoff series win during his eight-year tenure And if there is a desire to move on from Hiller given that seven other NHL teams are already conducting searches and are holding interviews with their candidates But if the Kings are confident in continuing with Hiller as their coach so as to quell any uncertainty over his future following a rough series the Kings could have a hole to fill on the staff if assistant coach D.J Hiller brought Smith in when he took over for Todd McLellan midway through last season who coached the Ottawa Senators for four seasons There is a connection between him and Penguins GM Kyle Dubas While others will be taken into consideration The Kings’ track record with this in 2024-25 was mixed Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere had their roles further elevated The linemates formed a productive trio with Kevin Fiala one that became their most dangerous offensive grouping at times two-way center who started to get prime defensive matchups Laferriere became an effective middle-six winger Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence took back seats at different times Both played a lot when Drew Doughty was sidelined during the first half of the season while recovering from a surgically repaired broken ankle Both remained in the lineup but saw their ice time diminish after Doughty returned And it dropped even further in the playoffs with Spence especially getting scant action and being scratched for a game But Alex Turcotte was reduced to part-time status and was pulled out of the lineup in favor of Trevor Lewis at a time when Turcotte’s younger legs could have been utilized All are homegrown players who should take on importance particularly with the Kings’ farm system lacking in NHL-ready prospects Some of this started in the second half of the season with Byfield getting some of the matchup minutes that previously belonged to Anze Kopitar or Phillip Danault And while Doughty averaged 24 minutes per game following his return at the end of January the Kings shuffled him to the second power-play unit when Andrei Kuzmenko arrived and they had success using five forwards on the first unit The Kings must move further in that direction Kopitar and Doughty can’t play forever — certainly not at the highest of levels — and the club needs to lessen its reliance on their franchise bookends If Doughty was fine with a diminished power-play role then the team should discuss a scenario in which fewer minutes would increase his effectiveness as he moves further out from surgery 1 center role and slot Kopitar behind him for what might be his final season and now it’s time to see if he’ll sink or swim as the featured pivot Let him and Kempe produce in a less taxing role or see if Kempe can build chemistry with Byfield and Fiala $22-million contract extension that Kempe signed in 2022 has been an unmitigated bargain His 139 goals over the last four seasons are 45 more than the next highest goal-scorer on the Kings That total puts Kempe in the top 20 among all NHL players over that span who can be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 The Kings can start negotiations with his camp on July 1 The good news for the Kings is that his next contract comes at a time when the salary cap rises from $95.5 million to $113.5 million over the next three seasons but he has moved into a tier where he’s at or near the level of Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg who signed an eight-year extension worth $68 million in 2022 Kempe stands to approach that — or equal it — even if he hasn’t quite reached Forsberg’s heights offensively “I think he’s a big guy that’s been working with his body and I think you see that it’s paying off right now,” Edmonton defenseman John Klingberg said of Kempe “I know he’s in the summers working with skills coaches and stuff But I feel like he’s doing everything at a higher pace now And I think it also comes with feeling comfortable around the team Around the other leaders of the team and he’s becoming a leader as well.” Blake said the Kings were working on an extension for Vladislav Gavrikov with significant term There was confidence expressed in getting the shutdown blueliner signed and there seemed to be momentum as Gavrikov switched agents a longtime friend of team president Luc Robitaille Perhaps both sides decided to wait until after the season so that the focus would be on the stretch run and the playoffs but it’s fair to think a deal could have been worked out before then — if they were close This could be Gavrikov’s home-run contract after the two-year extension Blake signed him to after his successful integration after joining the Kings at the 2023 trade deadline excelling in a career-best season in which he played all 82 games while averaging 23 minutes he stands to possibly reset the market for shutdown defenders It will be interesting to see what AAV number he comes in at — and whether the Kings will keep him or shift gears EdmontonNewsOld Strathcona Farmers’ Market ‘full, crowded’ on first Sunday of businessBy Craig EllingsonPublished: May 04, 2025 at 6:33PM EDT Goaltending is an integral part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs To better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each goaltender the last 100 goals allowed for each goaltender in the regular season and every goal in the playoffs were charted to see what patterns emerge The Western Conference Second Round between the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers features a Stanley Cup-winning goalie in Vegas starter Adin Hill against Calvin Pickard who will be starting a Stanley Cup Playoff series in the NHL for the first time in his 10th season The stark difference in playoff experience mirrors the significant contrast in styles and tendencies between the two goalies Hill’s ascent to NHL starter and Cup winner started with a relief appearance against the Oilers in the second round of the 2023 playoffs so there should still be a level of familiarity on both sides of the puck And while goalies continue to evolve over the years many of the scoring trends from two years ago remain relevant now right side: Rebounds were the primary factor on 21 goals which is well above the average of 11.7 percent for the over 8,500 goals tracked for this project since 2017 Almost all goalies move better one way than the other and for most it’s typically worse to the blocker side reach and even dive in that direction than he is recovering to his glove side This is reflected in the higher number of goals along the ice outside his right pad (14) compared to his left (7) Add in a tendency to kick at low shots with the right pad which adds a delay to recovery and puts more rebounds into the middle rather than angling them into the corner along with softer pads that tend to keep the puck inside the dots leading to traditional pass-off-pad rush chances producing several goals this season With the biggest numbers in both the regular season and playoff goal chart over the glove don’t be surprised to see the Oilers targeting the glove side on open looks and rush chances Hill uses a traditional ‘handshake’ glove position and can leave his elbow behind his body at times making high glove a better target than over the pad Laterals up high: Hill has long excelled against east-west attacks with above average results on dangerous plays across the middle of the ice that force a goalie to move side to side It’s partly a function of playing deeper in his crease than many of his peers which creates shorter paths and pushes on the side-to-side passes below the hash marks come further out and time his retreats on rush chances so making early passes higher in the zone increase both the distance he must travel across the ice to beat the pass and the odds of scoring Pickard took over for Stuart Skinner in the third period of Game 1 of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings and subsequently won the next four starts to eliminate the Kings and stake his claim to the starting job to start the second round His backup status in the regular season means there are only 85 goals to look at but the popular Pickard produced great results behind a team that appears to battle as hard for him defensively as he does for them in the crease Traffic jams: Pickard reads and anticipates well so it’s not shocking to see that taking away his line of vision leads to more goals More than one-quarter (24) of the 85 goals he gave up in the regular season involved a screen and the Kings added four more goals with traffic in the first round both well above the tracked average of 15.1 percent Screen goals weren’t limited to in-zone plays either with five in the regular season and one in the playoffs coming off the rush often with Oilers defensemen not helping with loose gap control that allowed opponents to use them to hide their shot release Part of the in-zone results are physical: at 6-foot-1 with a narrower butterfly He also tends to drift back as he drops behind traffic opening more net and limiting coverage to cut off deflections which accounted for eight screened goals in the regular season and two more in the first round Where to shoot also depends on where you are shooting from: Pickard uses a high stance to look over traffic when the puck is at the point so quick low shots can be effective from distance but he lowers and tends to slide more mid zone so elevated shots against the grain led to 13 screen goals The goal chart shows a discrepancy that might suggest shooting high glove side but it’s important to remember those don’t represent a save percentage Seven of the 10 clean-look goals Pickard gave up in the regular season were on the blocker side (four were low shots and the Kings scored two of their four clean-shot goals high blocker as well The two Los Angeles goals were near perfect shots just under the bar but a tendency to turn and pull back with the blocker and blocker-side shoulder rather than cutting pucks off in front may make blocker side a preferred target High glove moving or screened: Of the 18 high-glove goals in the regular season four were screened and 12 involved plays that got Pickard moving taking advantage of a tendency to drop his glove from a high fingers-up position in his static stance when he is moving whether it’s side-to-side on his skates or knees or on low-high passes that accounted for 11 goals East-West depends on direction: Pickard manages dangerous lateral plays across the middle of the ice well with his 15 goals (17.6 percent) in regular season well below the tracked average of 22.1 percent and none surrendered in four games against the Kings While these types of east-west plays are typically the hardest for goalies Pickard’s play reading has allowed him to make momentum changing saves when facing them His goal results are balanced in both directions but the goals along the ice to his right are a sign of better success attacking in that direction below the hash marks while right-to-left can produce better results higher in the zone including the above-mentioned tendency to lower his glove while moving that way and NHL.com has you covered with all the latest news Mattias Ekholm will not play for the Oilers against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round The defenseman is out with an undisclosed injury and will not be available in the best-of-7 series Ekholm missed the entire first round against the Los Angeles Kings The Oilers eliminated the Kings with a 6-4 win in Game 6 at Rogers Place on Thursday The 34-year-old had 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 65 games this season and averaged 22:12 minutes of ice time on the Oilers top defensive pair mainly alongside Evan Bouchard Ekholm has not played an entire game since a 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars on March 26 He missed the next seven games and returned in a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on April 11 but left after playing 1:52 He did not play in the last three games of the season five assists) in 25 playoff games last season helping the Oilers reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final where they lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers Jason Robertson skated with the Stars for the first time since sustaining an injury but did not play in the 4-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round on Saturday who led the Stars with 35 goals in the regular season sustained a lower-body injury at the Nashville Predators on April 16 and has not played since He was ruled week to week but has since been upgraded to day to day incorporating with the group," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said Saturday Miro Heiskanen is skating with the team but remains out with a lower-body injury and did not play in Game 7 EdmontonNewsAlberta NDP votes to allow opting out of federal party membershipBy The Canadian PressUpdated: May 04, 2025 at 9:48PM EDT EdmontonNewsOut-of-control wildfire close to city limits of Grande Prairie, Alta.By Craig EllingsonUpdated: May 04, 2025 at 9:23PM EDT CalgaryNewsJury rejects not criminally responsible defence, finds Calgary man guilty of murderBy The Canadian PressPublished: May 04, 2025 at 9:52AM EDT EdmontonNewsWildfire northeast of Edmonton spurs state of emergency alertBy Stephen HuntUpdated: May 04, 2025 at 7:31PM EDT EdmontonNewsOilers-Kings revisited: NHL playoff series recapBy CTVNewsEdmonton.ca StaffPublished: May 03, 2025 at 7:22PM EDT with Games 3 and 4 in Edmonton next Saturday and Monday Hockey is full of twists and turns especially in goal so we now bring you this playoff storyline — Calvin Pickard vs the Golden Knights the fledgling NHL team that called his name first in the NHL expansion draft eight years ago but didn’t like him enough through their first training camp and traded the goalie just before their first-ever game Fleury helped Vegas get to the Cup Final in their debut season was long gone before camp even started and he signed in Chicago but just days before the 2017-2018 season started Vegas claimed Malcolm Subban off waivers from the Boston Bruins who could get the start against Vegas in Game 1 Tuesday was dealt to Toronto on the day the Golden Knights played their first NHL game Subban played three seasons as Fleury’s backup in Vegas but bounced around after that He was with Ottawa’s AHL farm club in Belleville this past season Pickard certainly remembers the expansion draft “I was technically their first pick and was announced first but because it was based on reverse order of standings the year before when I was in Colorado (the Avs had the league’s worst 48 points),” said Pickard who had played 50 games (a career high with a .904 save percentage) in the 2016-2017 season “I spent a month with Vegas in training camp but was gone by the time the season started,” said Pickard who played two exhibition games competing to be Fleury’s backup but there were a lot of moving parts in the expansion year They were trying to move a lot of things around I just never landed on my feet there,” said Pickard who wasn’t surprised Vegas took him in the draft “I played the world championship the year prior and (Vegas GM) George McPhee was there and had a good worlds leading into the expansion draft I remember not sleeping the night before,” he said But there was giddiness to being part of a new expansion journey “There was some disappointment (leaving Colorado) I wanted to be part of the solution (in a rebuild) then it quickly turns to excitement (draft)  I played just one game for the Leafs that season (2017-2018) I was in the minors the whole year with the (AHL) Marlies,” he said The waiver claim for the younger Subban caught him off-guard Obviously it (waiver claim) was in the works for awhile It certainly underscores the crazy quilt of being a goalie who has played on six NHL teams and six more in the minors Pickard has started just one career game against Vegas a good primer if he opens at T-Mobile Arena Pretty tight defensive game and everything is magnified when we play Vegas We have to play detailed and limit our mistakes because they’re a well-rounded team with basically everything It’ll be an exciting challenge,” said Pickard who hasn’t played since Game 2 in Los Angeles was in the usual practice starter’s net Sunday but coach Kris Knoblauch has been the master of practice misdirection in the playoffs with his morning skates Jack Michaels and Louie DeBrusk will continue to call the Oilers on the national Sportsnet playoff feed for the Vegas-Oilers series and rightfully so They aren’t using an Eastern crew as in past springs Vegas didn’t have their 35 goal-scoring winger Pavel Dorofeyev (lower-body) in the last series game against Minnesota and he’s questionable to start the second round He had a goal and an assist on Nic Roy’s score in the April 1 loss to the Oilers Vegas only has two players they actually picked in the expansion draft off another team (not traded for like Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith) still on their roster today — Karlsson (Columbus) and Brayden McNabb (Los Angeles) One thing to watch for in this series: Vegas’s PK was a tawdry 26thin regular-season at 75.6 percent Golden Knights’ goalie Adin Hill had a rocky start in the first three games against the Wild (.827 save percentage) but was .918 in the last three against Minnesota When he helped beat the Oilers in their 2023 series in Round 2 The Oilers just signed right-shot defenceman Alec Regula to a two-year He never played a game after the Oilers claimed him off waivers from Boston in December because of knee issues the AHS Mental Health Help Line can be reached at 1-877-303-2642 The Canada Suicide Prevention Service can be contacted at 1-833-456-4566 who was in pretrial custody for allegedly stealing airsoft guns in Grande Prairie Corrections officials found the 23-year-old dead in his cell Jan As is the case in nearly all deaths in custody a fatality inquiry was called to determine what happened and steps that might be taken to prevent similar deaths the ERC operates with three clinics serving approximately 1,500 inmates and are ‘packed to the brim,’ ” Shoyele said the current system is overwhelmed because it faces limitations in terms of staffing and resources leading to long wait times and inadequate care with the potential for some inmates who are not as acutely unwell to fall through the cracks.” said she is pleased with Shoyele’s recommendations — which include reorganizing the remand’s mental health clinic to operate more like a hospital psychiatric unit Dozens of former remand inmates and their families have contacted Greene since she went public about her son’s death McConnell was arrested by Edmonton police on Sept he bounced between general population and administrative segregation following disciplinary issues Inmates seeking medical attention are required to submit health services request forms to the AHS staff working in the facility McConnell submitted multiple forms complaining of pain he submitted three requests asking to see a psychiatrist as well as for Suboxone — used to treat opioid addiction — and Seroquel — an antipsychotic drug A mental health nurse met with McConnell in his cell Nov He was later told he would receive a followup with a psychologist Curtis Woods planned to meet with McConnell Dec complaining he was “having trouble living day to day” without his mental health medication which AHS said it had no record of him being prescribed in the community McConnell again pleaded to start Suboxone treatment telling officials he had overdosed 16 times in the community and feared he would die when released He was on the waiting list for opioid dependency treatment but had not been prescribed the medication he sought He and his colleagues typically review 40 files during a clinic and see 10-15 patients Woods said those working in the system are “extremely competent people who are very busy with limited resources.” He confessed to being “surprised” more people in remand don’t die by suicide “It’s a whole different world entirely,” he said “A lot of it’s unfathomable to a reasonable mind Shoyele concluded the problems at the Edmonton remand are “not necessarily budgetary,” given the clinics are billed through Alberta Health “Professional opinion confirms that the current setup — where only three mental health clinics are available for 1,500 inmates — is inadequate,” he said “The inevitable result that flows from this present regime is that mental health units are overcrowded.” is the difficulty recruiting psychiatrists to work in correctional facilities Shoyele recommended the remand hire a full-time forensic psychiatrist position He suggested that person work as part of a “hospital-grade” mental health and addictions unit which would be better equipped to handle overcrowding and surges in population Such a system would improve response times to health service requests facilitate better treatment at intake and improve monitoring He also recommended a “general expansion” of mental health services and staffing at the jail Greene said Shoyele’s recommendations make sense but she’s concerned whether they will actually be acted upon She urged the system to reassess whether people like her son need to be in the custody in the first place and there’s a lot of T.J.s in there right now They’re there because they have addiction issues being punished for using drugs and being poor.” Postmedia has reached out to the provincial government for comment This in from broadcaster Daren Millard of the VGK Today podcast his interview with massive Vegas Golden Knights d-man Nicolas Hague who made a strong play on the boards to help set up the winning OT goal against the Minnesota Wild in Game 6 with Hague giving the recipe to Vegas’ secret sauce for winning in describing the play This is what Oilers are up against. Monster d-man pinching. Big forwards on the boards and going to net. pic.twitter.com/OjwIJJrDzl Said Milard: “I haven’t had a chance to catch up with you since the pinch that you made that led to the overtime goal You could have easily played a safe there and backed off We’re just kind of five guys supporting all over the ice Hague continued: “Obviously we want to try to keep pucks alive in the o-zone and we’re out there to win a game It’s as wonderfully simple as a forward or two filling in for a d-man when he pinches in the neutral or offensive zone It’s one out of three forwards in the offensive zone aware of the danger of enemy counterattacks and making sure he’s there in the high slot area to help out his d-man in case of a break-out It’s the support that Vegas d-men are confident they will get but it’s not something any Oilers d-man can count on For most of this season and in every playoff game except Edmonton’s brilliantly executed Game 5 win against Los Angles the Oilers were relatively erratic and undisciplined on defence All three forwards would often get too deep on the attack Forwards were too slow/lazy on the backcheck Forwards made turnovers at the offensive blue some of them kept getting caught out of position often through over-aggression and/or risky decision-making As a team the Oilers often were caught puck watching in their own zone no one looking at or covering the danger man coming in late to the slot to take a pass and hammer on net a Grade A shot I’ll suggest there’s a 50 per cent chance it will continue Bad habits and bad decision-making are hard to overcome though Edmonton showed last year in the playoffs and in Game 5 against Los Angeles — when they allowed just six Grade A shots the entire game — that they have it in them to play superior defensive hockey just as Vegas is more inclined to do on a regular basis Vegas beat the Oilers in 2023 because Edmonton’s man-to-man defensive system broke down too often leading to Vegas out-numbering the Oil at the Edmonton net Vegas clogged the slot with solid d-men and forwards But their most successful player in that regard excellent at reading the play and understanding where the danger was coming from something that several veteran Oilers d-men still struggle to grasp Vegas still relies heavily on the old stick-swinger The sharp teeth and brick wall of the Vegas zone allows smart gutsy and forceful attackers right near the net to beat the zone then fire in outside shots and slam home the rebounds Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to weave their thrilling plays No other team can score with the Oilers now that the Avs are out of the playoffs at least But Vegas will win this series if they play better defence than the Oilers with a special focus on having a strong net front presence great move stealing Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway And a colossal screw up by Holland and Jackson I like John Klingberg to win this year more than Broberg Alberta has tabled another suite of amendments as it pushes forward with refocusing the health care system Bill 55 — the Health Statutes Amendment Act 2025 — if passed would transfer front-line public health services out of Alberta Health Services (AHS) to Primary Care Alberta and move public health inspections to Alberta Health Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said at a news conference on Thursday the decision to move public health to Primary Care Alberta is to allow AHS to focus on delivering acute care services “Public health transcends all of the agencies,” LaGrange said “The policy side needs to reside within government.” The province passed two pieces of legislation in spring and fall 2024 to stand up the four new provincial health agencies and transition AHS from the province’s sole regional health authority to an acute care service provider Front-line public health services moving to Primary Care Alberta include newborn screening communicable disease control and health promotion strategic direction and policy development public health inspections and surveillance and medical officers of health would move to Alberta Health “It doesn’t make sense to have the medical officers of health just within Alberta Health Services they have to take on that broader role of making sure that they can address public health issues across the whole health  care continuum and they currently report up to the chief medical officer of health It’s just now physically they will be with the chief medical officer of health,” LaGrange said Alberta NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said the bill is “further evidence” that the premier is focused on “creating chaos” rather than hiring more health care staff She added moving staff from public health into the department will end up costing Alberta “Many of these folks have been leaders in our communities for years and have intentionally chosen not to work within government Now saying that they have to report to the chief medical officer of health who reports to the minister who reports to the premier — that isn’t what most of them signed up for,” Hoffman said The province said as the refocusing progresses no public health functions and activities will be disrupted there will be no front-line job losses and the collective bargaining process will be “respected” moving forward When asked what will happen to unions affected by the changes LaGrange said the province will continue to connect and have discussions with affected health care providers and practitioners “There’s also a choice for the individuals who are moving That happened in Recovery Alberta (and) in other moves as well,” LaGrange said it said staff transferring to Primary Care Alberta or the ministry will not be required to change unions and their current collective agreements will remain in place unions affected by staff transitioning from AHS to the Government of Alberta will then work with the government to negotiate an agreement Community and Social Services will be overseeing continuing care amendments to the Health Information Act designated the ministry as a custodian Officials said proposed amendments in Bill 55 are needed to further enable the ministry to collect use and disclose necessary information to support the minister’s mandate as a sector minister for continuing care The legislation would also make amendments to the Protection of Persons in Care Act to allow the director to delegate some or all of their authority to an employee in the department of health Officials said the current act only allows the director to make decisions on allegations of abuse which creates a bottleneck The province said the amendments would allow for quicker decisions to be made and prevent future backlogs the backlog has been reduced by 88 per cent to 92 cases from 766 cases Edmonton WatchCongestion still a huge issue at west Edmonton intersectionAs CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha reports, traffic congestion at 231 Street and Highway 16A in Secord is still a major concern for residents, despite new lights at the intersection. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. With about six months to go before the next municipal election mayoral hopeful Tim Cartmell officially launched his campaign Thursday for a city he says has “drifted into big spending with little value.” In a packed convention room where some 600 Edmontonians and Albertans had lunch while listening to Cartmell speak the applause swelled as the current city councillor walked on stage to deliver a speech that focused squarely on rebuilding Edmonton’s infrastructure and restoring trust in city leadership “We have bridge problems to talk about,” Cartmell said drawing on his background as a professional engineer and a small business owner community hubs — but we need to do it in a way that’s smart Citing widespread frustration with tax dollars going to waste a leadership that is “rooted in experience integrity and common sense,” saying city hall needs to prioritize the same thing every Edmontonian sitting around their kitchen table prioritizes —groceries On what he sees as Edmonton’s most urgent infrastructure priority Cartmell pointed to the projects already underway “The most important ones are the ones that are in progress warning that several major crossings will soon need replacement With Edmonton’s population growing by about 40,000 people per year simply rebuilding existing structures won’t be enough He said that building strong relationships with the province will be key to financing those efforts especially if plans for rail connectivity from the airport While he acknowledged past missteps — including approving two major recreation centre projects without fully accounting for inflation or supply chain delays — Cartmell says he’s learned from those experiences “Some of us felt an urgency to get moving on the recreation master plan and build a couple more facilities and didn’t look long enough at the effects of COVID on supply chains and inflation and all that kind of things.” Cartmell outlined a six-month campaign strategy built around assembling a council team aligned with his vision what he called “a consistent voice for change.” He drew a hockey analogy that landed with laughter among the crowd many of whom seemed eager for a playoff win as much as a political shake-up “You can’t win a hockey game with one player,” Cartmell said But my team will be a consistent voice for change will help bring a unified direction to council “We don’t have a consistent message from all of city council to instruct senior leaders,” he said A team that will spend the next six months learning from each other Cartmell announced the formation of a blue-ribbon panel that would begin working immediately on a comprehensive review of the city’s finances the panel’s mandate will be to ensure tax dollars are being spent strategically “First on their list will be addressing the serious flaws in how Edmonton calculates and applies property taxes the system is undermining our ability to grow,” he said noting the city has “some of the highest property taxes in the country.” Cartmell pledged to kick off his first term with a 100-day action plan prioritizing basic services like public safety He said he’d hold daily meetings with senior city leaders conduct a review of road construction plans and launch a public dashboard for transparency Cartmell acknowledged that crime statistics may be improving in some areas but argued that the public perception of safety is still deteriorating “I’ve spoken to parents who won’t let their kids take the LRT to school,” he said “I’ve spoken to seniors who feel anxious walking to the store I’ve talked to business owners who arrive at work every morning to clean up needles and broken glass before they can unlock the front door.” he promised to roll out a safe streets strategy and advocate for clear standards around vacant properties Cartmell also addressed housing and infill While “we need to fill in our empty spaces,” he said current policies have created tension in mature neighborhoods and need to evolve “There’s a need to modify it for context there — not kill it not get rid of it — but modify it for the context of the neighbourhood He said it’s important for deliberate planning both within the core and at the city’s edges warning that restricting suburban growth entirely could drive development just outside city limits leaving Edmonton to shoulder the infrastructure burden without the tax base Rebuilding trust means ensuring residents have a say in how the city spends money on major initiatives “That’s something that’s actually been missing lately,” he said “We need to do engagement where we are more sincerely interested in what people want to see in their neighbourhoods.” He added that the tone of public consultations must shift from “‘what’s the matter with you’ to ‘what matters to you,’” by breaking down complex planning decisions into tangible questions about how developments look and feel at the end of the block for the people who live there Cartmell also took time to reflect on his deep roots in the city — his family has called Edmonton home for four generations He spoke of his great-grandfather helping to establish the Edmonton Museum of Art his grandfather returning from war to work as a carpenter and his own experience raising a family and running a business in the city “This city gave my family everything,” he said cnguyen@postmedia.com Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun he approved a post that has a life-changing effect for Edmonton Archbishop Richard W who recalled getting the news the Holy Father had named him Archbishop of Vancouver came “just out of the blue,” Smith recalled at a farewell gathering Thursday “I don’t mind saying that threw me for a bit of a loop I was looking forward to the new challenges that were coming along the way,” he said The pontiff worked closely with Smith on his July 2022 reconciliation visit to Alberta’s Indigenous community which was co-ordinated by the Halifax-born Smith recalling the power of an apology made in person by the Pope “The power of it really came home to me that day when I had a lot of adults actually in that school come out and say ‘I’ve been waiting a long time to hear that,’ but it really came home to me at Maskwecis and it was the ripple effect of healing like that just started to flow from that,” he said adding that it’s not for the apologizer to demand forgiveness “Everybody’s at their own part of the journey I’m feeling this healing now,’ or ‘I know somebody that was hurt they’re talking about their healing,’ and the tears would start to flow and then the word ‘forgive’ would start to surface,” he said “We’ve had some strong Indigenous leaders who are so insistent that He recalled lessons begun during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s stop in Edmonton and when speaking with an Indigenous friend after traumatic reports emerged about unmarked graves of residential school students in Kamloops “I remember standing next to one of the chiefs and there was some kind of a gathering or assembly at the legislature outside We just need you to stand in solidarity with us right now to the degree that you can share in our pain right now.’ “I took that to heart — sometimes you want to say things but the key thing is to kind of just be there The power of a “sorry” came through at one of the Archdiocese’s Catholic schools that predominantly serves Indigenous students you realize that that’s the word that somehow is going to launch a process of healing for the person Smith is proud of the work accomplished by the Archdiocesan team and congregation — including the building of Newman Theological College perched up on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River valley Albert which was destined to make way for Anthony Henday Drive Grappling with COVID-19 pandemic was another major challenge — finding ways for people to remain connected with the church in the large imprint that Archdiocese of Edmonton makes on the province as the centre of the province’s Catholic community — with its 10 school divisions and Catholic health care through Covenant Health one of the largest Catholic health care delivery systems in the country and Catholic Social Services — along with more than 90 parishes and their associated lay associations An archdiocesan administrator will be put in place to manage until Smith’s successor in Edmonton is named by the next Pope to plan for growth ahead in Canada’s fastest-growing province from churches to unused buildings to cemeteries “We can foresee — as can the whole population — significant growth Do we need to start planning other churches is developing a good team around you to deal with the governance “One of the things that came out of COVID for us It was a real call at that particular moment to rethink how we do things for the sake of the mission ‘Look at pastoral conversion,’ by which he meant if there’s anything in the way you’ve always done things if now it no longer meets the needs for the mission That meant reorienting offices towards mission and community took a little bit of time bringing people along to that vision and helped us move towards the establishment of some key pastoral priorities for the next number of years,” he said who advised gathering in a “synodal” fashion the archdiocese conducted about 350 listening sessions “What was common to them all was a request for deeper formation in the faith We want to know more about this beautiful faith that we’ve got and so let’s establish as pastoral priorities ways in which we can help our people that are really eager to embrace the life of the church,” he said Smith will arrive in Vancouver May 23 after a silent retreat at a Benedictine abbey — all at a time of tragedy for the Catholic church’s vibrant Filipino community wounded in the wake of last week’s tragedy when 11 people were killed and many more injured when a motorist drove into the food court of a Filipino festival he sent a message for the Vancouver Filipino community but the reverberations were national and international throughout the Filipino community,” Smith said how do you get close to the people and with what message “Sometimes you just can’t make intellectual sense of something that is just so senseless Connor’s fingerprints were all over it on the final boxscore Article contentConnor Brown had a goal into the empty net with 1.2 seconds left after blocking a hard shot from Kings defenceman Drew Doughty moments earlier and set up two others by linemates Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic and was a heady plus-3 in the Oilers chaotic 6-4 victory that gave Edmonton a 4-2 series win had seven shots and was a combined plus five in a wild series with 51 total goals Brown was part of the much-improved Oilers penalty kill unit which was torched in the first two losses in L.A. He had a shorthanded two-on-one with Janmark in the first period of Game 6 with the shot high and hard with Victor Arvidsson in the box but just missed the top part of the net on Darcy Kuemper He helped kill off two power plays in Game 6 Brown suffered through an awful 2023-2024 Oilers season coming off his torn ACL and missing all but four games the year before with Washington He went 54 games without scoring last season and while he got it together the last month he still was an extra on coach Kris Knoblauch’s lineup card for all five games against the Kings last spring “Overcoming things like that help you in these big moments “I thought Brownie had his best game as an Oiler This series was retribution for the dog-on-a-bone player who never got into any of the first-round series last year against the Kings He didn’t return until Game 2 of the second series against Vancouver when Henrique was hurt then had six points the last 19 games on the run to the Cup Final How bummed was he to be sitting in the press-box last April against Kings There’s no other way around that,” said Brown “Last year was a tough one through the ears Felt like I battled hard at the end to have a good regular-season and then to not to play Those are the moments that give you strength.” So what’s working with this Frederic-Henrique-Brown iteration “I think it started in the overtime in Game 4 where we started to gel and we’ve been building off it ever since The big boy Freddie is really starting to find his game I’ve always liked playing with him,” he said They aren’t just McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the parade There’s a lot of playoff canines on the Oilers “We have a lot of guys who want the puck on their stick in big moments You can go through every line and we have guys who aren’t shying away from any type of limelight or any type of adversity “When you see the guy next to you hungry and wants to be the difference it carries through and gives each other confidence that’s when all the lines got into a rhythm One line set the next line up and it carried over to Game 5 Brown has also been part of the much-improved Oiler penalty kill stopping the bleeding after the Kings’ hacked them up in the first two games with five goals on 10 tries he and penalty-kill partner Janmark didn’t give up anything There’s a lot of pride in that penalty-kill room We were getting embarrassed the first two games Stewie (assistant coach Mark Stuart) did an unbelievable job seeing what they were giving us and making little adjustments where we got into a flow where they weren’t snapping it around like the first two games Hats off to him and the whole group,” said Brown “Brownie obviously is a big part of that penalty kill and they were great ever since those first two games and obviously had a massive kill there in the third and he pitches in with some offence who felt Brown was exactly what the doctor ordered The energy that he brings on a nightly basis is one thing it just kind of oozes from him,” said Nurse “Our depth guys really stepped up in this series when we needed them the most,” said Knoblauch Brown this time around was leading the way