Let's be honest for a second. As a Vegas Golden Knights fan, it's tough to root for the Edmonton Oilers. You must cope with bad memories of Evander Kane, along with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl peppering every Golden Knights netminder imaginable.
In fact, this rivalry has gone beyond the ice, with Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon accusing the Oilers of leaking confidential information about former Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy. Add in the past history of McCrimmon being kept away from Edmonton and this rivalry has become the NHL's spiciest.
But the aforementioned reasons are just the tip of the iceberg. It also involves the two main characters, Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid. It's a battle between the protagonist, Eichel, and the antagonist, McDavid. If you're in Edmonton, it's the other way around.
The Oilers and the Golden Knights can be summed up with the two superstars going at each other on the biggest stages. How have the Golden Knights and the Oilers made their bitter rivalry transcend beyond the NHL with just two superstars? Well, the last two significant world-class events are a shining example of the Oilers and the Golden Knights hating each other.
How the Golden Knights-Oilers rivalry transcended the NHL landscape
It should be obvious that the locales of both teams should be a dead giveaway. The Vegas Golden Knights are based in the United States of America (hence, America's Team, sorry, Dallas) and the Edmonton Oilers are from Canada (hence, Canada's Team, sorry, Toronto). The more you know, it seems.
But that North American rivalry between Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid also took hold in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Here, McDavid gave the Canadians the most memorable Golden Goal in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final by scoring the overtime winner. Round One goes to the NHL's best player.
Then, we have the 2026 Winter Olympics. The United States has a stellar performance by Connor Hellebuyck and the Americans get the last laugh. Jack Hughes gets the Golden Goal for the United States in overtime as the Americans get the gold medal and Nathan MacKinnon gets... a stuffed animal.
The Golden Knights and the Oilers will be a rivalry defined by its best players and undying patriotism
At its core, the Golden Knights and Oilers rivalry goes beyond the Pacific Division. It's a heated rivalry (no, not for you 20-year-old chicks) that stakes the national pride of two nations. It's the United States against Canada every time Vegas and Edmonton take the ice.
It makes even more sense that both country's two most iconic players happen to come from the Golden Knights and the Oilers. It's almost by fate that Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid would represent their nations and the top dogs within the Pacific Division, making this a rivalry bigger than hockey.
It's about pride. It's about feeling like you're the superior act within the hockey scene. That's what you're getting every time you see the Western Conference's last two representatives take the ice. Hockey is more than a game, you know.
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