Woodcroft reveals lines for Oilers' do-or-die Game 6 against Vegas
In the understatement of the year, the Edmonton Oilers are in dire need of a victory tonight.
Down 3-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights in their second round playoff series, Edmonton will need to pull off two wins in a row to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second season running.
Hosting the Golden Knights at Rogers Place, it’s a potentially era-defining game for one of the best Edmonton teams we’ve seen over the last three decades.
While Connor McDavid is the clear favourite to win yet another Hart Trophy, and Leon Draisaitl’s in the midst of a miraculous individual goal-scoring run, it’ll all be for naught if Edmonton can’t find a way to string a couple wins together and move to the next round of the playoffs.
Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft sent out familiar lines at today’s morning skate, with Darnell Nurse returning to the lineup after being suspended for Friday’s Game 5 loss. McDavid and Draisaitl centre the team’s top two forward lines, with Evander Kane and Zach Hyman flanking the top trio while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto round out the top six.
Per Oilers TV’s Tony Brar, here’s how Edmonton lined up at their morning skate ahead of tonight’s contest:
Forward lines
- Evander Kane – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl – Kailer Yamamoto
- Warren Foegele – Ryan McLeod – Derek Ryan
- Devin Shore – Nick Bjugstad – Mattias Janmark
Brar added that Klim Kostin was not on the ice this morning, but could possibly slot in place of Shore tonight. Woodcroft had no update on Kostin’s progress, as he played just 3:30 in Game 5, taking only six shifts on the night.
Defence pairs
- Matthias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
- Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci
- Brett Kulak – Vincent Desharnais
- Philip Broberg
Goalies
- Stuart Skinner
- Jack Campbell
Puck drop is set for 8 pm MT, with the game being broadcast nationally on Sportsnet and CBC.
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