The weight is off.
It took a little longer than anyone had hoped, but the Edmonton Oilers finally punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday night. As a reward, they can give their injured players the extra time off they need--while also easing them back into the lineup in a relatively low-stakes game.
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That's how goalie Stuart Skinner will return to game action, starting against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday in his first start since suffering a head injury against the Dallas Stars on March 26th. Skinner owns a 24-18-4 record and an .894 save percentage on the year.
He'll be joined in his return by defenseman Cam Dineen, back in Edmonton after Mattias Ekholm's aborted comeback attempt on Friday. Dineen received his second emergency call-up in three days on Saturday, filling in for the injured Ekholm and Jake Walman. Dineen has 43 points in 59 games in the AHL this year and played one game for the Oilers on March 6th.
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The rest of the lineup should stay the same as their win on Friday, with Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, and Brett Kulak likely slated for huge minutes for a third consecutive game. Bouchard, in particular, has been a beast, playing more than 28 minutes in each of his last two games.
They'll face off against a Winnipeg Jets team that's also locked into a playoff spot, having clinched the Central Division title on Saturday. A win over the Oilers on Sunday would clinch the Jets' first-ever Presidents' Trophy.
The Oilers and Jets face off at 5:00 MT, on Sportsnet.
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