Oilers get boost with two new forward lines for Game 2

The Edmonton Oilers are trailing 0-1 behind in the series against the Los Angeles Kings as while they are sticking to Mike Smith as the starter in goal, they are shaking things up up front. That’s because head coach Jay Woodcroft got some unexpected news about forward Josh Archibald.

The forward is now available for the series as his cardiologist has been able to get a medical exemption for him. Archibald reunited with the team after missing the first five months of the season with myocarditis, a complication from when he contracted COVID-19. He is unvaccinated against COVID-19, but has been granted a medical exemption from his cardiologist that allows him to enter the United States without having to quarantine.

Woodcroft can therefore shuffle his bottom-six forward set, inserting Archibald into the fold and sliding Warren Foegele to the fourth line, among the moves.

In Game 1, the Oilers had Ryan Nugent-Hopkins between Foegele and Derek Ryan on the third line, and a fourth-line pair of Ryan McLeod and Zack Kassian — opting for an 11 forwards, seven defensemen setup.

But for tonight’s Game 2, Nugent-Hopkins will go between Ryan and Archibald, and Foegele will drop to the fourth line with McLeod and Kassian.

Here’s how the Oilers lines will shake out for tonight:

Evander Kane — Connor McDavid — Jesse Puljujarvi
Zach Hyman — Leon Draisaitl — Kailer Yamamoto
Josh Archibald — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Derek Ryan
Warren Foegele — Ryan McLeod — Zack Kassian

Darnell Nurse — Cody Ceci
Duncan Keith — Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak — Tyson Barrie

Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen

Let’s see how this pays out for Edmonton as the team looks to even up the series.