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Oilers Shake Up Lineup With Return of Viktor Arvidsson After Injury
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
The Edmonton Oilers took the ice for practice today with a much different look their lineup, with injured forward Viktor Arvidsson making his return and Derek Ryan projected as a healthy scratch.
Arvidsson has missed over a month with an undisclosed injury, but has now joined the team for several practices, and is expected to play tonight.
With the long-awaited return of their injured top six free agent acquisition, the Oilers are shaking up the lineup.
Arvidsson will play on the third line to start, Mattias Janmark will be moved to fourth line center, and Ryan will be taken out.
In addition, the defence pairs will remain the same, and Stuart Skinner has been named as tonight's starting goalie.
Viktor Arvidsson Returns to Play, Edmonton Oilers Shake Up Lineup
It's great to see Arvidsson making his return to the lineup, and hopefully, he can begin to pick up his production after a disappointing start to the year.
The Swedish forward was signed with the expectation that he could be a reliable scorer to pair with Leon Draisaitl, but in 16 games so far this season, Arvidsson only has 2 goals. Hopefully now that he's fully healed from injury, he can be more effective.
Connor McDavid had an unexpected collision with Darnell Nurse at yesterday's Oilers practice, but it appears he turned out fine and will be available for tonight's game.
According to Oilers reporters, McDavid was shaken up by the contact and left for the remainder of practice. Coach Knoblauch was optimistic that McDavid didn't seriously get hurt.
Finally, Derek Ryan is being taken out of the lineup for the first time this season, and it could lead to the end of his NHL career.
Now 37 years old, the veteran Ryan was the easy choice to replace and upgrade upon in the lineup. Hopefully, he can continue in a leadership role around the team like Sam Gagner did last year.
Tonight against the Boston Bruins the Oilers will get another test against a quality team, and will be looking for a bounce back victory after the loss to Florida.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 19 | 145 ANSWERS Oilers Shake Up Lineup With Return of Viktor Arvidsson After Injury Do you think Viktor Arvidsson will be score more or less than 20 goals this season? | ||
| More than 20 | 58 | 40 % |
| Less than 20 | 87 | 60 % |
| List of polls | ||
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