Kris Knoblauch makes two surprising decisions ahead of Game 5.

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has developed a reputation for being somewhat fearless when it comes to making frequent adjustments to his lineups, even when it comes to the biggest games of the season. Game 5 as it turns out will be no exception with Knoblauch making a number of big decisions on Saturday that will no doubt have some impact on the outcome of tonight's game.

The biggest decision of course was the one that everyone was anticipating when it comes to the Oilers goaltending situation, with Knoblauch opting to go with Calvin Pickard as most had expected after Pickard helped rally the Oilers from 3 goals down after the first period in Game 4.

That wasn't the only big decision that Knoblauch had to make on the day however. The Oilers head coach has inserted forward Viktor Arvidsson back into the lineup for Game 5 at home, taking Kasperi Kapanen out of the lineup in the process, with Knoblauch explaining that he feels the rested Arvidsson will give his team the better chance of winning tonight.

"Viktor was pulled out and not in the lineup... but the privilege I have is having a lot of good hockey players," said Knoblauch. "Here we have a fresh guy who didn't play the previous game, our team has traveled, and we feel Viktor is in a position to help us."

Knoblauch made his expectations for Arvidsson tonight very clear.

"Throughout the playoffs he's played really well and... he was pulled out of the lineup but Viktor is an excellent hockey player and we feel that he will give us a good game tonight." said Knoblauch.

Knoblauch's most surprising decision of the day however may very well have been the change he didn't make. During Game 4, Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher was limited to just 4 minutes and 18 seconds of ice time after a costly mistake led to a Florida Panthers goal, with Stecher riding the pine most of that game. Knoblauch however has opted to stick with Stecher in Game 5, leaving him in the lineup despite the fact that he kept the player glued to the bench just 2 nights ago.

"We have a lot of trust in Stech, he's played a lot of good hockey for us," said Knoblauch of the decision.

Knoblauch added that the minutes Stecher has eaten up for the Oilers in the playoffs have been important ones.

"We know his game is very dependable and when we need him he's able to give us quality minutes and we're gonna need that from him," said Knoblauch.

On the other side of the coin, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice indicated on Friday that there would be no changes to his lineup and by all accounts that appears to be the case now only hours away from Game 5.