Oilers shake up lines before Game 3 and it looks like Perry will play

We may see several different line combinations from the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 tomorrow night versus the Florida Panthers.

The Oilers need a major spark. They trail the Panthers 2-0 and have managed just one goal in the series. Head coach Kris Knoblauch appears to be trying to do just that, as he mixed up his lines at practice this morning.

The usual first line of Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins remained intact, but after that, things got interesting. Ryan McLeod was skating on the second line with Leon Draisaitl down the middle and Dylan Holloway on the right side.

Adam Henrique was centring the third line, with Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown on his wings. Meanwhile, the fourth line consisted of Warren Foegele, Sam Carrick, and Corey Perry, while Derek Ryan skated as an extra.

It’s worth noting that Evander Kane didn’t take practice, as has been the case most of the postseason. Assuming he plays, the bottom-six forward group could look different tomorrow night. Regardless of how that plays out, as Knoblauch said, he expects Perry to be back in the lineup.

There were some changes on the back end, as well, as Darnell Nurse wasn’t on the ice. Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard continued to operate as the top pairing, while Brett Kulak and Philip Broberg rounded out the top four.

The third pairing featured Vincent Desharnais and, in a surprising move, Ben Gleason. Gleason spent the entire season in the AHL and has logged just four career NHL games, all of which came in 2018-19 with the Dallas Stars.

It appears, however, that Gleason is simply a placeholder for Nurse, as Knoblauch told reporters he isn’t worried about the 29-year-old’s availability for tomorrow night. How much he will be able to play, however, remains to be seen, as he suffered an injury early in Game 2 and played just two shifts afterward.

Cody Ceci, who was a healthy scratch in Game 2, played on a fourth pair with Phil Kemp, suggesting he will sit out again in Game 3.

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