Oilers make a lineup decision on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at Game 3 puck drop
The game time decision is in!
UPDATE 2: Ryan Nugent Hopkins is IN! He'll play tonight despite being a gametime decision with an undisclosed injury.
UPDATE: Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has announced that veteran forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a game-time decision for Game 3 o the Stanley Cup Final this evening. Nugent-Hopkins is reportedly dealing with an undisclosed injury, but he did take the gameday skate with his teammates earlier today.
“He'll take warm up, and we'll decide from there,” Knoblauch said to the media earlier today.
If RNH can't suit up this evening, veteran Jeff Skinner will take his spot in the lineup.
“Yeah, we don't have as much versatility if we are missing a centreman,” Knoblauch admitted. “Centremen are so important just to move around, and we don't have a lot of centermen on our roster.”
Read below for our earlier report on Nugent-Hopkins' status published yesterday by Hockey Feed staff writer Jonathan Larrivee.
The Edmonton Oilers received some fairly unfortunate news on Sunday morning when veteran forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins failed to hit the ice for the team's morning skate with the rest of his teammates. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch has since confirmed that the status of Nugent-Hopkins for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final is in doubt, with Knoblauch calling Nugent-Hopkins a game time decision on Sunday.
The Oilers have already been tasked with plugging a big hole in their lineup after forward Zach Hyman suffered a serious injury during the Western Conference final against the Dallas Stars. If Nugent-Hopkins were to miss Game 3 as well that would leave the Oilers with two giant voices to fill in their top 6 groups of forwards.
Although it is a huge blow for the Oilers this is the Stanley Cup Final we are talking about and despite having less than their ideal lineup the Oilers will look to pick up a win on the road in Game 3 and reclaim the lead in this series. On Sunday, we got our first look at what their lineup could look like without either Hyman or Nugent-Hopkins at their disposal.
Interestingly enough, Kris Knoblauch has chosen to place Oilers star forward Connor McDavid alongside two veterans in Jeff Skinner and Corey Perry. Perry has proven to be an extremely valuable player for the Oilers in these playoffs, but whether or not Skinner can find that level of success as well remains to be seen.
Here is a look at what the Oilers could look like in Game 3 judging by today's practice.
J. Skinner-McDavid-Perry
Kane-Draisaitl-Kapanen
Frederic-Henrique-Brown
Podkolzin-Janmark-Arvidsson
Nurse-Bouchard
Kulak-Walman
Ekholm-Klingberg
Skinner
Do you like Knoblach's adjustment in light of the difficult circumstances? As always let me know your thoughts in the comments.
