Kris Knoblauch appears to have made several changes to the lineup before tonight's Game 4 between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks.
Kris Knoblauch appears to have made several changes to the lineup before tonight's Game 4 between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks.
EDMONTON -- Anticipation is high for tonight.
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For the Edmonton Oilers - tonight is another night at the office. Game four is on tap and Kris Knoblauch appears to be making several changes before they face the Vancouver Canucks tonight.
The first - and most expected - change was Calvin Pickard holding court in the starter's net this morning. This was speculated before today, and reported earlier this morning by Frank Seravalli.
Another thing to note in context of the line combinations - is the players that did not participate in practice at all. Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Mattias Ekholm and Adam Henrique were all absent. It's not uncommon that there would be a player or two missing from a morning skate before a game.
In light of that, there are some interesting lines to note from the morning skate.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Connor McDavid - Zach Hyman
The Oilers appear to be reuniting one of the best lines from the regular season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid were one of the most dangerous lines across the entire NHL.
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This should be a welcomed sight for the Oilers - and hopefully it helps improve the depth scoring that the Oilers will need to get through this round with the Canucks.
Dylan Holloway - Sam Carrick - Sam Gagner
This line is a big thing to take note of considering which players were missing from practice. Dylan Holloway has played in every playoff game so far, yet at skate he was on a line with Sam Carrick and Sam Gagner.
This could indicate that Holloway could see action on the second line with Kane and Draisaitl. This could be a sneaky great line for the Oilers as they try to break even with the Canucks tonight.
Darnell Nurse - Vincent Desharnais
Darnell Nurse and Vincent Desharnais were a pairing - which is nothing new for either blue liner. Splitting up Cody Ceci and Nurse was experimented with during the regular season (briefly) with mixed results.
This certainly means that we could also see a Ceci paired with Brett Kulak once the puck drops tonight.
In any case - these changes are certainly something to keep an eye on once the puck drops for tonight's must win game.
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