The winger has five goals and three assists in 14 games this postseason and will take warmups tonight, where it’s projected that he’ll be back in his third-line spot alongside Trent Frederic and Adam Henrique when the Oilers confirm their deployment during line rushes. Jeff Skinner was on the ice late during this morning’s pre-game skate for the Oilers and looks to be the odd man out up front tonight as a healthy scratch with the return of Brown.
Just like they did in Game 5 against Dallas, the Oilers will need to pick up the slack following the loss of Zach Hyman for the remainder of the playoffs.
“Brown is a really good two-way player, but I think his penalty-kill skills are second to none,” Knoblauch said. “I think he’s very good at that. He’s usually paired with Janmark, and the two of them we rely on quite a bit. But you’ve seen during the playoffs him come up with some really big goals, especially early in our playoff run against LA coming up with some key goals, so he’s a guy that can move up and down the lineup.
“Especially right now, we’re kind of short on right-wingers with Hyman not being available. So we’re going to need some more guys stepping up there. Whether that’s Perry, Brown, Arvidsson, Frederic, we’ve got a lot of guys. Kapanen, since he’s been inserted back in the lineup during this run, he’s been phenomenal, so those guys collectively are going to try to raise our game.”
Brown is excited to come back in and contribute to another push for the Stanley Cup with his Oilers teammates after they came so close last year, feeling they’re a better and more prepared team this time around to get the job done in a rematch against the Panthers.
“Growing up, you want to play in the Stanley Cup Final, and I think that’s been echoed a lot around here,” Brown said. “Last year, it kind of felt euphoric being here. It’s something you dream about, but this year it feels a little different. We understood the blueprint. We believed that we have a rightful place here, so it’s a different feeling. It’s a good feeling, and I think we’re excited to get to our game plan right away.”
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