McLeod out: Oilers make major lineup decision for Game 3
The Edmonton Oilers have opted to make a major change to their third line ahead of tonight’s Game 3 against the Dallas Stars.
With veteran forward Adam Henrique slated to return to the lineup after missing most of the second round, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters this morning that he will be taking the spot of Ryan McLeod, who will come out of the lineup for the first time all postseason.
“Adam [Henrique] will be playing tonight, Ryan McLeod will not,” Knoblauch told a mass of reporters. “It’s a reset. Clouder is going to be a part of this team, whether it comes in the next game or the following… We’re going to see him sooner than later.”
#Oilers HC Knoblauch describes the McLeod scratch as a “reset” and says we will be seeing him “sooner rather than later” https://t.co/bXC4vyOUl3
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) May 27, 2024
With McLeod ruled out for tonight, it seems likely that Henrique will take his place centring the third line alongside Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan. Edmonton will lose quite a bit of speed without McLeod slotting in, but the 24-year-old has struggled of late with no points in 14 postseason games and has become a bit of a defensive liability over the first two games of the series.
Knoblauch confirmed this to be the only change to the Oilers lineup from Saturday night’s Game 2 in Dallas. We can expect the following lines to take to the ice for Game 3:
With McLeod out and Henrique coming in, we can expect the #Oilers lineup to look a little like this tonight:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Kane-Draisaitl-Holloway
Foegele-Henrique-Ryan
Janmark-Carrick-BrownEkholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Desharnais
Kulak-CeciSkinner
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) May 27, 2024
Edmonton has been having some trouble getting back to their usual scoring selves in the first two games of this series. It took them until double OT to find three goals in Game 1 and they only mustered a single goal past Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger in Game 2.
They’ve been getting decent depth scoring, but the Oilers’ big guns will have to find a way to get on the board consistently if the team hopes to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.
Stuart Skinner was a major storyline heading into this series but, through two games, he has been exactly what the Oilers have needed. He will get the nod between the pipes once again and holds a .928 save percentage in the series so far.
Gametime at Rogers Place is set for 6:30 pm MT.