Edmonton Oilers reveal lines with chance to eliminate Vegas
The Edmonton Oilers have pushed the Vegas Golden Knights to the brink of elimination, and they’re looking to finish the job tonight.
Monday night’s 3-0 victory over the Golden Knights was one of the team’s most complete games of the season. Edmonton dominated all three zones of the ice, stifled a deadly Vegas offence, and got some key saves from Stuart Skinner between the pipes.
That effort was spurred on by a new lineup with Kasperi Kapanen and Troy Stecher playing their first playoff games with the Oilers. Heading into Game 5 with a chance to advance to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons, head coach Kris Knoblauch decided not to mess with a winning formula.
“We’ll have the same lineup [as Game 4],” Knoblauch told reporters Wednesday morning. “We need everybody… We inserted Kapanen, who hadn’t played for several weeks, and Stecher too, and they were able to help us.
“[Changes are] gonna happen again whether it’s after a loss, injury, or whatever happens… I think we’ve got a lot of good hockey players, and I think they’ve all been helping our team win.”
"Treat it as every other playoff game, one day at a time, one game. We're not looking at it as if we have to win one of three… We have to win tonight & not worry about anything else."
Coach Knoblauch on the #Oilers approaching an elimination game.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/QhanlrUq8D
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 14, 2025
This means that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will remain on separate lines. The Oilers captain will pivot the top line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. Draisaitl will hold down the second line with Vasily Podkolzin and Kapanen.
Knoblauch spoke about Draisaitl’s ability to affect the puck not only offensively, but on the defensive side as well. He’s been tasked with shutting down Vegas superstar Jack Eichel and, so far, has had fantastic results.
“In my opinion, Leon should win the Hart Trophy,” Knoblauch said. “Also, probably the best defensive forward in the league, I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.”
Moving down the lineup, the Oilers are keeping things the same for a third line that generated all three of the team’s goals in Game 4. Adam Henrique is coming off a two-goal outburst, all while centring linemates Evander Kane and Connor Brown.
The fourth line will see the trio of Trent Frederic, Mattias Janmark, and Corey Perry stay together.
The defensive group will have Brett Kulak remain on top-pair duties alongside Evan Bouchard. Jake Walman and John Klingberg have been playing great all postseason long and will continue to form Edmonton’s second pair. Darnell Nurse, meanwhile, lands on the third pair with Troy Stecher.
Stuart Skinner is looking for his second straight victory between the pipes after recording a 23-save shutout against Vegas on Monday night.
Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. MDT.