Edmonton Oilers making at least one lineup change for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final
The Edmonton Oilers will shake things up as they try to tie up their Stanley Cup Final series with the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
It was a forgettable Game 3 performance for the Oilers on Monday night, as they lost 6-1 and looked utterly hopeless against a relentless Panthers squad. Stuart Skinner was pulled after allowing five goals on 23 shots, while the rest of the team failed to generate much of anything in front of him.
The Oilers practiced on Tuesday, running the same lineup, but it sounds like changes are coming. Head coach Kris Knoblauch met with the media on Wednesday morning, where he confirmed that the team is expecting to make at least one lineup change ahead of Game 4.
He stopped short of revealing what that change could be.
“We will likely have a lineup change,” Knoblauch said. “We haven’t confirmed that, we haven’t discussed that with our players yet, but there are some things we have been thinking about.
“There might be a lineup change.”
"The most important thing is having focus & direction for the players to play at their best."
Kris Knoblauch on preparing the #Oilers for Game 4 tomorrow vs. Florida. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/B1Q1WibBzx
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 11, 2025
The most obvious move that Knoblauch could make is to take Skinner out and put Calvin Pickard in the Oilers’ net. The sophomore head coach told reporters on Tuesday that the team was contemplating a goalie change in the series, but did not commit either way.
Pickard is 6-0 in the playoffs this season with a .880 save percentage.
Another potential change to the lineup could come on the blueline. While John Klingberg has had himself an excellent playoff run, he has struggled with the Panthers’ forecheck through the first three games.
The Oilers are also desperately looking for a stable partner for Darnell Nurse to play with. This could mean that Troy Stecher draws back in. The 31-year-old has impressed on this playoff run and has had some great chemistry with Nurse.
That seems to be the move that Sportsnet’s Mark Spector is expecting.
Knobauch says there WILL be a lineup change for Game 4.
Likely Stecher in, Klingberg out.— Mark Spector🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@SportsnetSpec) June 11, 2025
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins remains a game-time decision for Edmonton going into Game 4. If he can’t go, it does appear that Jeff Skinner will jump onto that top line with Connor McDavid and Corey Perry. Considering that decision will likely come down to the wire, it wouldn’t make sense if this were the change that Knoblauch was referring to.
Regardless of what move is made, Game 4 is setting up to be the most important game of the season for the Oilers. They either find a way to tie the series heading back to Edmonton, or they dig themselves a 3-1 series hole that they will have to dig out of.