Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft didn’t tip his hand before a pivotal Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche.
But his lineup could see a bit of a shakeup with his team looking to avoid a 3-0 deficit in the best-of-7 series on Saturday.
“How much have you ever read into my lines?” Woodcroft questioned when asked how much to read into Saturday’s morning skate.
“We’ll see what the lineups present tonight.”
Forward Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Darnell Nurse were both absent from Saturday’s morning skate, but are expected to play.
Another absentee isn’t as much as a lock to suit up, though.
Kailer Yamamoto did not participate in the skate after leaving Game 2 because of an upper-body injury sustained on a hit from Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog.
And it’ll trigger a bit of a change up top.
With no Yamamoto, the Oilers appear to be elevating winger Zack Kassian to the top line alongside Evander Kane and Connor McDavid, leaving Draisaitl to anchor a second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman.
“Nothing’s a guarantee, but if you get a chance to ride shotgun next to the best player in the world you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Kassian said. “We’ve had success before. Tonight’s a big game for our hockey club. Individually and collectively as a group we all have to be at our best to get this one at home. We know how important it is. Every line has to be going, everyone has to be going. It’s not just one individual.”
A Yamamoto absence could also see the Oilers roll with 11 forwards and seven defencemen, bringing in the frequently-scratched Kris Russell to help bolster a blue line featuring a banged-up Nurse.
Those decisions won’t be learned until Woodcroft files his official lineup pre-game.
“Hopefully we can make it work,” said Kane, who paces the playoffs with 13 goals. “It’s something that gives you a different look, maybe gives you a different feel on the ice. When you move different pieces around, you have different skill sets on different lines. Hopefully we can find something that works and clicks and we can put the puck in the net.”
Here’s how the Oilers could line up for Game 3, according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN:
Evander Kane — Connor McDavid — Zack Kassian
Zach Hyman — Leon Draisaitl — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Warren Foegele — Ryan McLeod — Jesse Puljujarvi
Derek Ryan — Drew Shore — Josh Archibald
Darnell Nurse — Cody Ceci
Duncan Keith — Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak — Tyson Barrie
Mike Smith
Smith is expected to start for the Oilers. He has a 6.95 goals-against average and .846 save percentage in two games in the series.