Oilers hoping lineup changes can give them ‘a boost’ in Game 4 against Panthers

The Edmonton Oilers as an organization aren’t far removed from a time where they had to plug their nose and play certain players, even if they maybe didn’t want to.

Depth within the forward and defensive ranks was there — in a sense — but it was never of a high-quality.

Those days have come and gone, and with the work Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has done in-season this year, the team is now flush with options.

And now, the Oilers find themself in a spot where they can rotate players in and out of the lineup, like they are for Thursday night’s Game 4 against the Panthers, with Jeff Skinner replacing Viktor Arvidsson up front and Troy Stecher replacing John Klingberg on the blue line.

“I felt like we have a lot of good players, a lot of good players who have been in and out of the lineup,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch Thursday. “Some players haven’t seen any game action so far in this series, and we felt that we could use a change, have those guys come in and give us a boost.

“We’ve seen it throughout the playoffs where we’ve made alterations to our lineup and it’s benefited us. It’s been difficult to take those guys out, because it’s not that they’ve been playing poorly, but just that we’ve felt we got something with guys who have been out, so we’re making some adjustments.”

Arvidsson and Klingberg have both played in all three of the first games in the Stanley Cup Final. Arvidsson had helped outscore the Panthers 2-1 at five-on-five with him on the ice, including getting a goal in Game 1, but the underlying numbers have been brutal, as Oilers have controlled just 33.9 percent of the shot attempt share, 25.9 percent of the expected goal share and 12.5 percent of the high-danger scoring chance share.

Klingberg, meanwhile, has struggled this series, as no Oilers player had been on the ice for more five-on-five goals against on the team than him, with the team getting outscored 5-1.

Skinner and Stecher will look to provide that aforementioned boost to the team. Skinner has played in just two games in the playoffs: Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, notching an assist, and Game 5 against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final, scoring the third goal of the game.

Stecher, meanwhile, was in the lineup for Games 4 and 5 in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights, and Games 1 through 4 against the Stars. He helped calm Darnell Nurse’s game and will look to do so again, partnered with him on the second pair. While the Oilers’ underlying numbers weren’t great, controlling 45.3 percent of the shot attempt share, 47.7 percent of the expected goal share and 48.6 percent of the high-danger scoring chances. Despite that, the Oilers outscored the opposition 3-0 with him on the ice.

“I just think I play a simple and steady game. I don’t do anything great. I don’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Stecher about his game, and why he thinks the Oilers coaching staff can trust him entering the lineup. “Obviously, there’s times I’m going to, but I feel like they know what to expect out of me every night. More than anything, I just embraced my role as an individual player trying to add to this team.

“Do I I want to play every night? Of course, but it’s not my decision. I got to be the best teammate you can be that’s coming to the rink and working as hard as you can and being prepared for when your number does get called. I think the coaches understand that I work hard and that I’ll be ready.”

Game 4 is set to go at 6:00 PM MT Thursday night, before the series shifts back to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday night.