Former Blackhawks veteran Corey Perry takes a seat again for the Oilers in the playoffs.
Former Blackhawks veteran Corey Perry takes a seat again for the Oilers in the playoffs.
Corey Perry is once again serving as a healthy scratch in the Edmonton Oilers lineup for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. This isn't the first time he's taken a seat in the press box as he previously sat out four games in a row from Game 7 of the second round to Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
This doesn't come as a huge surprise as Oilers' head coach Kris Knoblauch has shown no hesitation in changing the lineup around. This time, the expectation is that Perry doesn't sit out as long as he did last time.
Interesting enough, Sam Carrick is the player who replaces Perry in the lineup again. He was the player who came in for Perry the last time the veteran sat out after going pointless through the first 10 games of the playoffs.
Knoblauch has proven that he can make the right lineup decisions and has helped the Oilers get this far. When he takes a player out of the lineup and give them another chance soon, those players perform better. Perry got an assist in his return to the lineup in the playoffs in a pivotal Game 4 vs the Dallas Stars last round. That is still the only point he has in the playoffs.
Perry's return to the Oilers' lineup went well on the second line, but his foot speed and style of play just isn't suited for the top-6 and wasn't a long-term solution. As soon as he returned to the bottom-6, the 39-year-old was much less effective.
Carrick has more toughness and kills penalties, but I can see him coming out in a game or two in favor of Perry again. This should just be a reset and the Oilers need Perry to be his normal pesky self, especially against this type of gritty Florida team.