Oilers lineup update: Draisaitl placed on long-term injured reserve, Järventie recalled from Condors with Kapanen a game-time decision

The Edmonton Oilers made a pair of roster moves and blended their lines Thursday ahead of their Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Florida Panthers.

Leon Draisaitl was placed on the long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury sustained Sunday night on a hit by Nashville Predators winger Ozzy Wiesblatt. He was initially expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, but Oilers general manager Stan Bowman shared on Thursday he could return at the end of the regular season.

The team also recalled winger Roby Järventie on an emergency from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, as winger Kasperi Kapanen is a game-time decision. As a result, the Oilers had a new-look lineup when they took the ice for morning skate.

Vasily Podkolzin slid up to the Oilers top line alongside Connor McDavid and Matt Savoie, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins slid down the lineup to his natural centre position on the second line, flanked by Zach Hyman and Jack Roslovic. The third line saw Jason Dickinsion centre Josh Samanski and Curtis Lazar, who remains on the LTIR and was a placeholder for Järventie. The fourth line remained intact, with Adam Henrique centing Max Jones and Trent Frederic. Edmonton’s blueline remained the same, with Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard on the top pairing, Darnell Nurse and Connor Murphy on the second pair, and Jake Walman and Spencer Stastney on the third.

Connor Ingram will make his fourth consecutive start, and his sixth in the last seven games for the Oilers. He’s posted a 3-0-1 record over that stretch with a .913 save percentage.

The Panthers enter Edmonton with a banged-up roster. Winger Brad Marchand was the latest to join the wounded ranks being placed on LTIR on Tuesday, while the likes of Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, Cole Schwindt, and Jonah Gadjovich all out of the lineup.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MT.