The Edmonton Oilers appear to be on the verge of getting a boost to their lineup ahead of Thursday night’s matchup against the Boston Bruins.
Viktor Arvidsson, who has missed 15 games with an undisclosed injury, was once again participating in practice on Tuesday morning. This is the second straight day the veteran Swede has been on the ice with the Oilers.
However, this was the first time he had been taking regular line rushes. He was skating on the Oilers’ top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, most likely as a placeholder for Zach Hyman. Hyman was not skating as he had a medical appointment to deal with an injury suffered from taking a puck to the face on Monday night.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch met with the media after practice, and he gave a very positive timeline for Arvidsson’s return to the lineup.
“He can possibly play on Thursday,” Knoblauch said. “This is his first real practice; he’s had a couple of morning skates, and he’s been skating on his own.
“The anticipation is he’ll be playing sometime this week.”
“He can possibly play on Thursday. This is his first real practice… he’s had a couple morning skates & he’s been skating on his own… We’ll see how he’s feeling.”
Coach Koblauch on Viktor Arvidsson returning to the #Oilers lineup.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/AYjmV0tdMN
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 17, 2024
It’s unlikely that Arvidsson will be sticking on the top line when he returns, as Hyman will probably retake that spot once he is ready to start skating again. When it comes to where Knoblauch will fit him in, he says the coaching staff will have a decision to make.
“Ease him in there,” Knoblauch said. “I think we have to tread lightly just because he hasn’t played in a month, and we’re playing three [games] in four [nights].”
Just having Arvidsson back as a regular member of practice is making an impact on the team. Daily Hive was able to ask Leon Draisaitl what it’s done for team morale to have a player like Arvidsson get back to speed with full practice participation.
“It’s great,” Draisaitl said. “He’s had some injury trouble, unfortunately, but he’s such an established great player, a great player in this room, good leader.
“Really, really, excited to have him back.”
Arvidsson will have some extra time to heal up for Thursday’s game, as the Oilers have Wednesday off. Fans will be excited to finally see #33 suit back up in an Edmonton jersey for the first time in over a month.