Hockey fans were treated to an incredible game on Wednesday night. The Vegas Golden Knights took on the Edmonton Oilers in a crucial Game 5 of their second-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This Game 5 also proved to be extremely decisive.
Neither side were able to score in regulation. Both the Oilers and Golden Knights had their chances to get on the board within the first three periods. However, they couldn’t break through, and the two sides required overtime.
Game 5 featured less than half of an overtime period. A battle for the puck ensued in the Oilers’ offensive zone. No one could find the puck, but the stick of Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen did. Kapanen was able to knock the puck in the net, sending Edmonton to the Western Conference Finals.
KASPERI KAPANEN IS YOUR @ENERGIZER OT HERO IN GAME 5 AND THIS SERIES IS OVER! #StanleyCup
The Golden Knights are heading home again after a promising season. Vegas believed they could win the Stanley Cup with this group. They had the making of a legitimate Cup contender, as well. This loss has left the team trying to process what went wrong in this series.
“Every year you don’t win feels like a year wasted,” veteran forward William Karlsson said, via NHL.com’s Shawn P. Roarke. “I believe in this team and we got knocked out.”
Golden Knights Disappointed Not to go Further
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesThe Golden Knights head into the offseason after their Game 5 loss in overtime.
This Golden Knights team featured a ton of talent. Jack Eichel had a career season for Vegas in 2024-25. Adin Hill held things down in goal for this squad. Players such as Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, and Pavel Dorofeyev also made a massive impact.
This is a team full of players who have won the Stanley Cup before. The Golden Knights are only two years removed from winning their first Stanley Cup, of course. Even beyond that, players such as defenseman Alex Pietrangelo have won it before on other teams. Those players know what good teams look like, and they believed Vegas fit the bill.
“Any time you have a good team, you feel like you didn’t finish what you set out to do,” Pietrangelo said, via Roarke. “We got a hell of a team, a hell of a locker room. It’s hard to win in this league and we knew that going in. It’s just disappointing.”
Vegas Coach Proud Despite Oilers Defeat
Head coach Bruce Cassidy knows his team needed things to do differently. For instance, a win in Game 2 would have been huge. Leon Draisaitl won the game in overtime despite Vegas killing a five-minute penalty in the extra frame. A Game 2 win is one of many things they wanted to go in their favor.
The brutal reality of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is that sometimes, things slip away. It does not matter how good your team is. It does not matter how you played before your seven-game series. If you can’t win those four games, you are going home.
Still, Cassidy does not believe his team played terribly in Game 5. How could a team that pitched a regulation shutout play terribly? Vegas gave itself a chance to extend its season. And the bench boss recognized their efforts.
“Listen, I liked our game [tonight],” Cassidy said, via Roarke. “I thought we competed hard physically. We wanted to win. I’m super proud of the guys, they were committed to playing the right way. I thought it was two evenly matched teams and they found a way to be better than us in certain areas.”
Golden Knights Left to Process Disappointing Oilers Defeat