DALLAS — Suddenly, the Edmonton Oilers dressing room is a bit of a revolving door, with Mattias Ekholm and Jeff Skinner coming in for Thursday’s Game 5 and Troy Stecher and the injured Zach Hyman out of the lineup.
Skinner will start on a line with Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic, by the looks of the morning skate, while Ekholm slips right back into his spot next to Evan Bouchard on the Oilers’ top defensive pair.
Ironically, Ekholm’s season was thought to be over when he was hurt in April (believed to be a groin injury). But it’s Hyman whose season was unexpectedly cut short with a busted wrist and subsequent surgery after that hit by Mason Marchment.
“It’s extremely disappointing to lose (Hyman). Devastated for him,” said captain Connor McDavid. “We’re going to miss him a lot, but it’s great to see Ecky come back. He’s put in a lot of hard work to get to this point. Credit to him, credit to the training staff for getting him back.”
Will the changes affect Edmonton’s Game 5 performance? It sounds like McDavid won’t allow that to even become a topic.
“Those players that are coming in, (the media) or the fans may not have seen them, but they’re around. They’re part of it,” McDavid said. “They’re veteran guys, guys that are going to step in and play great. I expect nothing less.”
The name least talked about will be Stecher’s, a solid role player who has carried the load effectively in Ekholm’s absence. As Stecher said the other day, he’s ready to step aside when Ekholm was ready to return.
“I want him healthy and I want him to help us win,” Stecher said. “He’s a better player than I am. That’s just the reality of the world.”
That stuff, it gets heard inside a dressing room.
“His words there,” McDavid acknowledged, “it resonates with everyone. Anything to win.
“Stech has been great, not deserving at all to come out of the lineup. But that’s the reality when you’ve got good players all over. When you get a guy like Ekholm back, it is what it is.”
Bye, Man
When the playoff leader in hits is suddenly gone for the series — and the season — the opponent takes notice.
Suddenly Hyman is out, and Dallas defenceman Thomas Harley said the quiet part out loud.
“He’s playing very physically, which I think the defencemen have noticed,” Harley said Thursday morning. “Even when he’s not scoring, he’d be affecting the game in that way.
“So, I’m happy he’s not playing. Injuries suck, but he’s a good player, and he’s not on their team. They’re a little bit worse.”
It was said with respect by Harley — a compliment, really — and you can’t say he’s wrong. The Oilers are a little bit worse without Hyman.
Corey Perry looks to start on right wing next to McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Here’s what we expect the lines to look like tonight:
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – PerryKane – Draisaitl – KapanenSkinner – Henrique – FredericPodkolzin – Janmark – Arvidsson
Ekholm – BouchardNurse – KulakWalman – Klingberg
Skinner
Robertson – Hintz – RantanenMarchment – Duchene – SeguinBenn – Johnston – GranlundBack – Steel – Blackwell
Lindell – HeiskanenHarley – CeciBichsel – Petrovic
Oettinger
Getting the tap
Jeff Skinner played Game 1 of the first round, had an assist on a minus-2 night, and head coach Kris Knoblauch hasn’t written his name on another playoff roster since — until now. It was Skinner’s one and only NHL playoff game, to go with his 1,078 career regular-season starts.
As a big free-agent signing, it’s been a humbling season for Skinner. But he’s has handled it like a pro — never whined or complained — and the reward for that comes tonight and possibly next week, should he be able to help his team through Round 3 and into the Stanley Cup Final.
“Just like anyone in here, I try and stay ready for the opportunity,” Skinner said after the morning skate. “There are other guys I’ve been skating with who are in the same position as me, and we understand that the team is playing well. Our job is to stay ready and be a good teammate.”
Being a good teammate, as it’s turned out, has been a bigger part of Skinner’s season here than we would have predicted. There’s a lesson here, kids.
“He’s been nothing but a pro,” said veteran Corey Perry. “He’s come to the rink every single day and put in the work. He’s smiling, laughing in the dressing room, having fun with the guys. It’s exciting for him to come in.”
Sitting out big games wasn’t the plan when Skinner signed here on July 1. But as he says, “You want to be on a good team? That’s part of it.
“And there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. The training staff, obviously, the strength and conditioning staff, those guys are all in it with us. They’re all helping us stay prepared and keep a positive mindset.”
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