Darnell Nurse Says “We’ll See”, Plus Game 1 Lineup of Oilers vs. Kings

But, Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED, who covers the Oilers games on the radio has Nurse in the lineup. Skating with Cody Ceci, they are the top pair with Duncan Keith and Evan Bouchard on the second pairing. Brett Kulak and Tyson Barrie will make up the third pair and Kris Russell and Philip Broberg will be ready to go in relief.

The Oilers also have a healthy crop of forwards as their much deeper forward group is ready to roll. Evander Kane and Jesse Puljujarvi will flank Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid, while Zach Hyman and Kailer Yamamoto will be centered by Leon Draisaitl. Rounding out the top nine will be Warren Foegele, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Derek Ryan, with Ryan McLeod centering Josh Archibald and Zack Kassian on the fourth line.

If there’s one question mark for fans, it’s the use of Archibald who, at best, will only play half of the series. He cannot travel with the team to Los Angeles due to his COVID vaccination status. The argument for those who are happy to see him in the lineup is that he’s got a bit of an edge to his game and the Kings are feisty. The argument against is that there are players more deserving of a spot on the roster.

The Kings Lineup

The projected lineup for the Kings will see Anze Kopitar center Andreas Athanasiou and Adrian Kempe on the first line. The second line will be Philip Danualt centering Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore. Alex Iafallo will be with Dustin Brown, and they’ll flank Blake Lizotte, while the fourth line is not necessarily set.