Some fresh legs could (and should) get added to the Edmonton Oilers lineup for Game 3.
Some fresh legs could (and should) get added to the Edmonton Oilers lineup for Game 3.
EDMONTON -- Home ice advantage.
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The Edmonton Oilers split the first two games on the Dallas Stars home ice. It's disappointing for the team to not have two wins considering how they played - but now they have home ice advantage and need to do their best to capitalize on it.
They can insert some fresh legs into the lineup - and there are multiple players who could be candidates to get into game action. One at the top of the list should be Corey Perry.
Perry hasn't played since Game five against the Vancouver Canucks, but along with Adam Henrique he should play tonight against the Stars.
His gift of agitation and being a pest around the net is another element that the team needs to have in order to solve Jake Oettinger. While he hasn't completely shut the door on the Oilers, they could be able to throw him off his mental game with Perry causing a ruckus in the crease.
Perry is a master of the "game within the game" and if Kris Knoblauch hasn't thought about adding him to tonight's roster - he certainly should consider it.
If both Perry and Henrique enter the lineup, who comes out? I don't believe the Oilers would touch the fourth line of Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark and Sam Carrick. Maybe that means taking out both Derek Ryan and Warren Foegele for a little reset. Both players have been working hard while on the ice, but sometimes the team just needs to have a different look.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpkzZ0py0lU[/embed]
Regardless of who comes out, Perry can give the Oilers exactly what they need to bet Oettinger more regularly than they have so far. Averaging two goals a game is not a recipe for winning a series - and this small adjustment could help them score more goals.
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