Mattias Ekholm returns from illness while Kasperi Kapanen plays his 500th NHL game tonight in St. Louis.
The Oilers missed Mattias Ekholm on Saturday.
Out with an illness that night, Ekholm's absence was clearly a huge blow to the Oilers' defence as they allowed three goals in the first period -- two on the powerplay -- against Toronto and never recovered.
The Oilers' performance without Ekholm illustrates just how important he's been to the team since they acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline and his return will help balance out their blueline.
Ekholm's return is the only major change to the Oilers' lineup from their loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday night as they take on the St. Louis Blues for the second time this season. The rest of the lineup will look something like this:
Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Corey Perry
Viktor Arvidsson - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Zach Hyman
Jeff Skinner - Adam Henrique - Kasperi Kapanen
Vasily Podkolzin - Mattias Janmark - Connor Brown
Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse - John Klingberg
Brett Kulak - Ty Emberson
Stuart Skinner
Draisaitl and McDavid will stay together atop the lineup for yet another game despite the Oilers' continued offensive struggles without them on the ice. Vasily Podkolzin is demoted to the fourth line after playing just 7:49 on Saturday and going pointless in his last five games.
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Kasperi Kapanen will celebrate a major milestone tonight, playing in his 500th career NHL game against his former team in St. Louis. The 28-year-old has 9 points in 29 games with Edmonton since being claimed off waivers from St. Louis in November.
The Blues, meanwhile, will enjoy the return of veteran defenceman Nick Leddy, who's missed the last 49 games, not playing since October 15th. He'll join one of the most experienced bluelines in the league next to fellow longtime NHLers Ryan Suter, Cam Fowler, and Justin Faulk.
The Blues will line up like this:
Pavel Buchnevich - Robert Thomas - Jordan Kyrou
Dylan Holloway - Brayden Schenn - Alexandre Texier
Jake Neighbours - Oskar Sundqvist - Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko - Radek Faksa - Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler - Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg - Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter - Nick Leddy
Jordan Binnington
The puck drops between the Oilers and Blues in St. Louis at 6:00 p.m. on Sportsnet.
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