Knoblauch makes major change to Oilers defense for Game 2.
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch is changing things up on the blue line after Game 1.
It seemed clear that something had to give on the Edmonton Oilers blue line after another catastrophic performance from the duo of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and it has.
The Oilers hit the ice for their morning skate on Monday and by the looks of things Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch is making a significant change to his blue line. Based on the line rushes this morning, it looks as though veteran Oilers defenseman Cody Ceci will be sitting on the sidelines for Game 2.
Stepping in for Ceci will be physical defenseman Vincent Desharnais and he will be taking Ceci's place alongside Nurse as well, leaving the other defensive pairings untouched. Here is a look at the Oilers lineup based on today's morning skate:
Forwards:
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Henrique-Draisaitl-Holloway
Foegele-McLeod-Perry
Janmark-Carrick-Brown
Defensemen:
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Desharnais
Kulak-Broberg
Oilers forward Evander Kane was not on the ice for the morning skate.
No one in their right mind is going to fault Oilers rookie head coach Kris Knoblauch for making this change, especially not after how bad Ceci and Nurse have been as a pairing in these playoffs thus far. Game 1 was no exception with the pairing on the ice for both Panthers goals, excluding the empty netter, which resulted in a firestorm of criticism from Oilers fans and even some difficult questions for Kris Knoblauch during media availabilities following the game.
Nurse has of course been the focus of much of that criticism and he will be on the ice for Game 2. Whether or not the swapping of Ceci for Desharnais will have a meaningful impact on Nurse's performance in Game 2 remains to be seen.
