Following Viktor Arvidsson’s return in Game 4 in place of Connor Brown, it’ll likely be Jeff Skinner’s turn to come back into the lineup on Thursday as the forward to replace Zach Hyman after appearing only once in this postseason in Game 1 of the First Round against the Kings.
Like every roster tweak made before him, Arvidsson’s addition represented another impactful change at the right time for the Oilers, joining a list this postseason that includes Calvin Pickard (six wins), Stuart Skinner (five-of-seven victories and two shutouts), Troy Stecher (impactful defence) and Kasperi Kapanen (series-clinching goal in the Second Round).
The Swedish forward is looking to build on his performance against Dallas in Game 4 in hopes of being the solution to Edmonton’s problem on the right side at forward in the absence of Hyman.
“I think he did really well,” Knoblauch said. “He hadn’t played for a couple of weeks, and to come into an environment like that against a good team at this point of the season, he just continued to get better. In the third period, he might have been one of our best forwards. He had quality shots, won a lot of puck races, and made some nice plays, so Viktor’s game was what I expected.
“He played the way we want him to play, and we’ll need more of that from Viktor, because with missing guys, especially on the right side with Hyman, that’s an opportunity for him to step up and play a more significant role.”
Knoblauch also confirmed that Brown will miss a second straight game, but he hopes that his return will come quickly after he joined the team on the road to Dallas despite his injury from a hit delivered by Alex Petrovic in Game 3 of the series. Mattias Ekholm is close to making his 2025 playoff debut and could slot back in as part of an 11-and-seven combination for Hyman or in a traditional 12-and-six deployment as a direct swap on the blueline for Stecher.
Having turned resilience into resounding wins in this postseason, the Oilers aren’t worried about anything beyond Game 5 of the Western Final on Thursday, despite being one win away from a rematch in the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers after they eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
“We have a good record when we’ve been in those situations,” Knoblauch said. “I’m confident with our guys being mature. They’re experienced. They don’t get too high or too low. It’s not that they would ever think that we’ve got this under wraps. That is definitely never the case with this team.
“They know how hard it is to win that last deciding game, and they also have a lot of respect for the Dallas Stars, knowing that they’re a good team who can certainly turn it up. They turned around a series in the first round against Colorado.”
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