Edmonton Oilers reveal new playoff-ready lines and defence pairs
The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have arrived.
Game 1 of the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round series against the LA Kings is set for Monday night. With the team having just played their final regular-season game against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, they opted to stay in California ahead of the series.
Friday marked the first full practice for the Oilers since the regular season ended, giving fans a sneak peek into what Edmonton’s lineup could look like to start the series. Injured players like Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl, and Jake Walman all participated.
Oilers TV’s Tony Brar had the full lineup from San Jose.
EDM lines & pairings – Friday’s practice:
Hyman – McDavid – Brown
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Skinner – RNH – Henrique
Perry – Janmark – Kapanen
Kane – Ryan – JonesNurse – Bouchard
Kulak – Walman
Emberson – Brown
Dineen – Klingberg#Oilers— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) April 18, 2025
Head coach Kris Knoblauch has opted to make a slight tweak to the top line with Connor Brown sticking beside Connor McDavid while Hyman took over the left-wing spot. Jeff Skinner had previously been in that spot over the last week or so, but he has moved down to the third line.
That third line also has an interesting change. Knoblauch was playing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the centre spot while Adam Henrique was moved over to the right wing. Usually, the Oilers have pushed Henrique down to the fourth-line center spot, but it appears they may start the playoffs with the veteran on the wing.
Leon Draisaitl was manning the second line with usual linemates Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson. The fourth line saw Kasperi Kapanen and Mattias Janmark take turns at center while Corey Perry played the wing.
Evander Kane, Max Jones, and Derek Ryan formed an extra line as well. Trent Frederic was also participating in practice but was not involved in line rushes.
On the backend, Darnell Nurse is taking over the injured Mattias Ekholm’s spot on the top pair alongside Evan Bouchard. Walman moved over to the right side of the second pair with Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson forming a third pair with Josh Brown.
Brown being on the playoff roster is not ideal by any means, but injuries to Troy Stecher and John Klingberg might force it unless Knoblauch trusts an inexperienced Cam Dineen to play regular minutes.
It remains to be seen whether or not this will be the exact lineup that takes to the ice at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night. We will have to wait and see what the next few days reveal.