The Edmonton Oilers will be tweaking their lineup this evening as they prepare for Game 5 against the Dallas Stars.
The Oilers hit the ice for morning skate in Dallas, with everyone but Evander Kane taking part. The first line of Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman will remain intact. The second line, featuring Leon Draisaitl, Ryan McLeod, and Corey Perry, will stick together as well.
Warren Foegele was skating on the third line with Adam Henrique and Dylan Holloway but appears to be a placeholder for Kane, indicating he will be a healthy scratch for the second-straight outing.
The fourth line will see a change, however, as Sam Carrick appears to be back in at centre, with Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown as his wingers. That means that Derek Ryan will be the odd man out tonight.
Oilers lines & pairings this morning:
Note: Kane* not on the ice
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
McLeod – Draisaitl – Perry
Foegele* – Henrique – Holloway
Janmark – Carrick – Brown
Gagner – RyanEkholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Kulak
Broberg – Ceci
Kemp – DesharnaisSkinner
Pickard#Oilers— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) May 31, 2024
To no surprise, the defensive pairings will remain the same, meaning Vincent Desharnais will sit out once again in favour of Philip Broberg.
Ryan coming out of the lineup isn’t a major surprise, as he logged fewer than eight minutes of ice time in each of the past two games. While he is viewed as a big part of the Oilers penalty kill, he took a penalty at an inopportune time in the second period of Game 4. Though it was killed off, that may have played a part in Kris Knoblauch’s decision to scratch him.
The Oilers will be looking to be the first team this series to win two games in a row tonight, which would give them a 3-2 lead heading back to Edmonton. Puck drop in this one is set for 6:30 pm MT.
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