Major Oilers line-up shuffle: Two veterans moved in, two out, one bumped up
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This in from the Oilers practice, news of major line and d-man pairing changes at the Edmonton Oilers practice. Jeff Skinner and Troy Stecher appear to be moving into the line-up, with Viktor Arvidsson and John Klingberg moved out, and Connor Brown bumped up to the top line.
Ryan Rishaug@TSNRyanRishaug
Stecher with Nurse Brown on 97 line with 93
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Tony Brar 🚀 @TonyBrarOTV
EDM lines – Thursday Morning Skate:
RNH – McDavid – Brown
Kane – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Skinner – Henrique – Frederic
Podkolzin – Janmark – Perry
• Arvidsson, Ryan, Jones
Ekholm – Walman
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Bouchard
• Klingberg, Emberson, Dineen
My take
1. Hmm. I like the players being moved in, Jeff Skinner and Troy Stecher, and think it's the right thing to turn to them just now. But I don't know why Viktor Arvidsson would be taken out and not Trent Frederic, who has struggled both with injury and with making plays in the offensive zone. Frederic's game lacks explosiveness. Meanwhile Arvidsson has played strong two-way hockey and scored a key goal in Game 1 against Florida.
2. For the third year running Darnell Nurse has struggled to find his 'A' game in the playoffs, even as he so often brought it in the 2024-25 regular season. This has meant a constant changing of the guard when it comes to Nurse's partners, with Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais and Brett Kulak all struggling along with him last season, and Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak and Klingberg struggling with him this year. But Philip Broberg eventually came in to form a steady pairing with Nurse last year. And Troy Stecher has brought out the best in himself and Nurse this year.
It's critical that the Oilers get solid minutes out of Nurse and Stecher, and they're a solid bet to give the team just that.
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