Edmonton Oilers seem to be making major line changes for Game 4 against Vegas
The Edmonton Oilers seem to be shuffling the deck as they try to take a stranglehold over the Vegas Golden Knights.
A disappointing Game 3 result has changed the complexion of this second-round matchup as the Oilers are trying to hold onto a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 in Edmonton tonight will give the Golden Knights a chance to even up the series before things shift back to Nevada for Game 5.
With that in mind, Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch appears to be making some wholesale line changes for Game 4 after running with a consistent lineup over the last six games.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug detailed the new-look lines but added a caveat that these may not actually be tonight’s lineup. Knoblauch kept the lineup details cryptic when asked by the media after the skate.
“We’ll have some lineup changes. There’ll be some game-time decisions, but there will probably be little switches,” Knoblauch said. “We’ve got guys who aren’t playing right now that have a lot to offer, whether we need a little more speed, physicality, defensive responsibilities, or offence.
“We’ll be making one, maybe two, changes.”
Not the traditional line rush drill at morning skate. They’ve changed this up. Not sure how much to read into this. First run through was
Hyman McDavid Perry
RNH Draisaitl Janmark
Kane Henrique Brown
Mish mash in 4th line.
Let’s see what Knoblauch says.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) May 12, 2025
If we take these lines at face value, Knoblauch is shaking things up quite a bit. McDavid and Draisaitl are now on separate lines after having played together for the majority of the last seven playoff games. The Oilers captain was piloting the second line alongside Zach Hyman and Corey Perry, while Draisaitl moved down to the second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mattias Janmark.
Evander Kane has been bumped to the bottom-six on a third line with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown. The fourth line appears to be anybody’s guess, but Kasperi Kapanen did come off the ice before Viktor Arvidsson. One of those switches that Knoblauch mentioned could be Kapanen coming into the lineup while Arvidsson heads up to the press box.
Knoblauch joked with reporters when asked if people can read into these practice lines.
“You can read into them, and maybe not write about them,” Knoblauch said with a smile.
When you’re in a hockey-mad market like Edmonton, that might be just too tall of an ask for local media.
On the backend, the only change that could happen is Troy Stecher coming into the lineup for Ty Emberson. That is based on Stecher coming off the ice before Emberson this morning.
Stuart Skinner will get the nod in net once again with Calvin Pickard out of the lineup with an injury. We will have to wait until pre-game warmups to see if this is the lineup that the Oilers have chosen to go with in Game 4.
Gametime is set for 7:30 p.m. MDT.