Insider reports Oilers making significant change to defence in game 2
Earlier this morning, Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Vincent Desharnais will likely enter the lineup tonight after being scratched since Game 3 of the Stars series.
Philip Broberg entered the lineup when Desharnais was scratched, and has played well above expectation so far. Broberg's play might keep him in the lineup, leaving Knoblauch to consider scratching another regular defenceman or rolling with 7 defenceman. Below are the lineup combinations for game 1.
It's a tough decision, especially when many of the depth forwards have been living up to their roles, especially on the penalty kill. If Knoblauch was truly going to make a gutsy decision, he may scratch Cody Ceci for Vincent Desharnais directly.
Desharnais lost his spot in the lineup when he started having some difficulty moving the puck up ice, and Broberg has been a perfect answer. However, Desharnais still knows how to make the simple low-danger plays, something that the Oilers just aren't getting from Ceci right now. They're not getting it from Nurse either, but the reality is that you can't scratch a $9.25M player in the Stanley Cup Final.
Above all else, Desharnais has matched up well against the Florida Panthers in the past. For a physical forechecking team like Florida, a 6'7, 230 pound defenceman can pose some problems in their strategy. When the Oilers squared off in Florida earlier this year, Desharnais was an absolute physical force. If he gets in the lineup tonight and can make safe simple plays while bruising the Panthers, it would be a great change up for the Oilers.
| POLL | ||
Do you think another defenceman should come out of the lineup, or should the Oilers play 7 dmen? | ||
| Take someone else out | 142 | 47.5 % |
| Play 7 Defence | 135 | 45.2 % |
| See Results | 22 | 7.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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