Edmonton Oilers reveal new-look lines and Ekholm is playing tonight
The Edmonton Oilers have the chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final tonight, and they’ve changed up the lines to help them do it.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch was put into a tough situation following the news that Zach Hyman was likely out for the rest of the playoffs. With a major part of the Oilers’ top-six now out of commission, some difficult lineup tweaks were in order.
Jeff Skinner is coming into the lineup to deal with Hyman’s absence, but the big news is coming from the Oilers’ blueline. Mattias Ekholm is set to make his return to the lineup after missing the entire playoff run to date.
At this morning’s skate ahead of Game 5, Knoblauch showed off a new-look lineup as the Oilers hope to eliminate the Dallas Stars for the second-straight season. OilersTV’s Tony Brar had the full lineup.
EDM lines & pairings – Morning Skate:
RNH – McDavid – Perry
Kane – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Skinner – Henrique – Frederic
Podkolzin – Janmark – Arvidsson• Brown, Ryan, Jones
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Kulak
Walman – Klingberg• Stecher, Emberson, Dineen
Skinner
Pickard#Oilers— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) May 29, 2025
The Oilers are wasting no time in getting Ekholm back into his usual spot. The veteran Swede was skating on the team’s top pair with Evan Bouchard this morning. This will bump Brett Kulak down to the second pair, where he will play on the right side with Darnell Nurse.
Jake Walman and John Klingberg, who have been one of the best pairs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, will round out the defensive group tonight. Troy Stecher is the odd-man out and appears to be a healthy scratch going into this potential series clincher.
Up front, Corey Perry has taken Hyman’s spot on the top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Evander Kane will jump up to the second line alongside Leon Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen.
Down in the bottom-six, Skinner will play just his second-ever NHL playoff game on the third line with Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic. Vasily Podkolzin is sliding down to the fourth line alongside Mattias Janmark and Viktor Arvidsson.
It appears Connor Brown is still not ready to get back into game action after taking a high hit from Dallas defender Alex Petrovic in Game 3.
Stuart Skinner will get the nod in net yet again for the Oilers. The Edmonton native has been lights out during this Western Conference Final, posting an incredible .939 save percentage through four games.
Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. MDT.