EDMONTON – It ends tonight.
The regular season, that is.
The Edmonton Oilers have already clinched a playoff berth and are readily familiar with their first-round opponents, the Los Angeles Kings. However, several questions about the health of their players linger.
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The Oilers' line combinations and defense pairings at Wednesday night's skate before their season finale against the San Jose Sharks should raise an eyebrow or two.
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Oilers Forward Lines
Skinner - McDavid - Brown
Sitting at 99 points, Connor McDavid returns to the lineup for the season's final game. Seeing him center Jeff Skinner and Connor Brown is the most sensible move, considering how that trio was playing before Monday night’s debacle.
Podkolzin - Nugent-Hopkins - Arvidsson
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins returned from injury on Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings. He will center the Oilers' second line with Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson on his wings.
Perry - Henrique - Kapanen
Adam Henrique has stepped up in a big way recently with his dominance in the faceoff circle. The offense hasn’t quite been there, but winning draws is important for possession, so it’s a necessary skill to have in the lineup. He will center Corey Perry and Kasperi Kapanen.
Jones - Janmark - Hutson
The line of Max Jones, Mattias Janmark, and Quinn Hutson has a little bit of everything. There is speed, skill, and physicality amongst the trio. It will be interesting to see how this line gells.
Oilers Defense Pairings
In his pre-game scrum, Kris Knoblauch revealed that the Oilers would go with 12 forwards and five defenders. Connor Carrick was called up under emergency conditions. Unfortunately, that means he has to sit out Wednesday’s game in order to be eligible to play.
Cam Dineen and Evan Bouchard were together for the last period on Monday night, and will be reunited. Brett Kulak and Josh Brown will construct the other pairing, with Ty Emberson rotating in on whatever pairing the coaches decide.
Extras: Kane, Draisaitl, Hyman, Nurse, Klingberg
Everyone else was skating except for Trent Frederic, Mattias Ekholm, and Jake Walman. The hope is that everyone (except Ekholm) will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.
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