Tonight may be close to must-win game for the Oilers, and they're going to be making several major lineup changes to ready themselves. What could be most concerning however is a potential injury to the team's best defenceman in Mattias Ekholm.
With Ekholm absent from practice and Knoblauch's comments, it seems that the Oilers will dress Philip Broberg and will with 11 forwards and seven defenceman tonight. Connor Brown will likely come out of the lineup, and Broberg will be brought in to cover for Ekholm if need be.
Mattias Ekholm was the defenceman taking a maintenance day today, indicating that he's the one that is dealing with an injury. Coach Knoblauch did confirm the decision was related to an injury, and with Ekholm's absence, it's clear that he's hurt. Late in the third period of game 3, Ekholm went down awkwardly after a hard hit from Elias Lindholm.
Dressing 11 forward and 7 defenceman may actually turn out to be the Oilers best possible lineup. With one less forward, it'll allow Knoblauch do get some double shifts in for McDavid and Draisaitl against weaker competition, and perhaps Philip Broberg can take some ice time away from Cody Ceci who has been struggling greatly in the playoffs so far.
Falling down in the series 3-1 against the Canucks heading back to Vancouver would be a disastrous situation for the Oilers, and it may be too much to overcome. Despite dealing with injuries, rocky goaltending, and major lineup changes, the Oilers need to find a way to push through and win this all-important game 4.
