The Edmonton Oilers will see Adam Henrique return to the lineup at some point in their Western Conference Finals series against the Dallas Stars.
During a quick practice at Rogers Place before flying down to Texas, Henrique was skating on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Dylan Holloway. He was in Evander Kane’s usual spot, who was not on the ice with the team as he was taking another maintenance day.
One last skate before the Western Conference Finals#Oilers pic.twitter.com/9XVIbW5m6Q
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) May 22, 2024
Henrique only played in one game throughout the entire second round and is dealing with an ankle injury that he sustained against the LA Kings in round one. Skating in practice is a positive sign, but Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch did not say either way if he’ll be in the lineup for tomorrow night’s Game 1.
“We believe he’s really close, and we’re expecting him early in the series whether that’s Game 1, 2, or 3,” Knoblauch told media this morning. “We’ll definitely be seeing him at some point.”
Henrique put up six goals and nine points in 22 games since being acquired by the Oilers from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline. He’s added just a goal and an assist to those totals in six playoff games.
Though he was skating on the second line at practice this morning, Knoblauch said a decision still needs to be made on where he winds up. Henrique has spent time on both Connor McDavid and Draisaitl’s wings but has also played in the bottom six for some stretches.
“He adds a lot to our team,” Knoblauch said. “Whether that helps us with our second-unit powerplay, the penalty kill, or probably more importantly, a little secondary scoring.
“Whether we put him up on the top two lines, he’s spent time with [Draisaitl], he’s spent time with [McDavid], or he helps out with the secondary scoring on the third or fourth lines. It probably depends on what we need at the moment.”
Henrique also took some time to talk with the media. He is a veteran of a few Game 7s during his time with the New Jersey Devils and said he hated being on the sidelines for Monday night’s big win.
“It’s way worse [not playing in a Game 7],” Henrique said with a smile. “I don’t do well just sitting there and watching, so I’m kind of pacing around… It’s not a great feeling. When you’re playing, you’re in the game, in the moment, and you have control. When you don’t have that control, it’s hard to take.”
The team will fly to Texas tonight to prepare for Game 1 against the Stars tomorrow night. We will most likely get more clarification on Henrique’s status for the game when the team hits the ice at American Airlines Center for the morning skate tomorrow.