Oilers Reveal Lineup For Final Tilt With Predators

Finn Marceau

Nov 14, 2024, 18:12

Finn Marceau

Nov 14, 2024, 18:12

The Oilers will be without Viktor Arvidsson as they look to sweep their season series with Nashville.

Perry Nelson-Imagn Images - Oilers Reveal Lineup For Final Tilt With Predators

The Oilers will be a little shorthanded tonight against the Nashville Predators.

According to Oilers TV's Tony Brar, winger Viktor Arvidsson will miss tonight's game with an undisclosed minor injury. Arvidsson missed yesterday's practice, and head coach Kris Knoblauch said he'd be a coin flip for tonight's game.

With Arvidsson out and only 12 forwards on the NHL roster, the Oilers will dress 11 forwards and 7 defencemen against Nashville.

Curiously, they seem to have chosen not to move someone up to fill Arvidsson's spot, preferring to rotate players on and off Leon Draisaitl's right wing. Connor Brown and Corey Perry should see ice time bumps tonight, and Jeff Skinner should get an opportunity to play himself out of the doghouse and off the fourth line.

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On defence, we'll likely see Travis Dermott, Brett Kulak, Ty Emberson, and Troy Stecher switch between the second and third pairs all game. Stecher has been Darnell Nurse's main partner for the past couple of weeks, though Kulak has gotten some minutes next to Nurse almost every game.

The third pair has usually been a rotation between those four players at practices, so it's a safe bet that they'll carry that into the game.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HGae39t-aA[/embed]

Calvin Pickard gets the call between the pipes for his third start against the Predators this season. Pickard is 2-0 against Nashville this year, with 51 saves on 54 shots. Those two wins are the first of his career against the Predators, with five lopsided losses on his ledger before this season.

While it's been a while since the Oilers have rolled out an 11/7 lineup, it's not brand new for longtime Oilers. It was extremely common under previous head coach Jay Woodcroft, and the Oilers typically performed better in that structure.

At the very least, it means more ice time for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. With McDavid just one point away from 1000 and Draisaitl's historic dominance of the Predators, increased ice time can only be a good thing.

Tonight's game gets underway at 7:00 on Sportsnet West.

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