Oilers activate key player from IR, will see 2 injured players return in tonight's game vs. Seattle

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been sidelined with injury for the last 3 weeks, and finally will return to play tonight. He's been officially activated from LTIR, and the Oilers will also see Curtis Lazar return from injury.

Missing Nugent-Hopkins for the last 3 weeks was a harsh blow for the Oilers who are already struggling with all facets of their game. On top of that, Coach Knoblauch initially reported that Nuge would only miss 1 week with an undisclosed injury.

The fact that he's back now is all that matters, and he has to step in to be an immediate difference-maker. Nuge can help with the Oilers struggling 5v5 offence, but he may even be more needed helping out on the defensive side.

That's where things get interesting for the Oilers new-look lineup. At yesterday's practice, Nuge was centre on the third line.

The Oilers could seriously use a reliable checking line to help out their def waive woes, and provide some extra space for the top-six to get favourable matchups. This is a formation many Oilers fans wanted to see this season, and now Edmonton can roll out 3 trusted lines.

Now 32 years old, Nuge has had an incredibly strong start to this season with 16 points in 16 games - one of the few Oilers performing at or above his expectations.

Hopefully his return along with a new-look lineup deployment can work for the Oilers tonight in Seattle, and get them back on track to a winning record.