Oilers announce season ending ankle surgery for defeseman Troy Stecher

This abrupt news derailed any chances of head coach Chris Knoblauch inserting him into the lineup as the Oilers defence continues to struggle and needs a shake up. Stecher, who was traded at the deadline from the Arizona Coyotes had played seven games for the Oilers during the regular season and had two assists and was a + 4. He also averaged 16 minutes per game of ice time.

But since his injury, Stecher has missed all fifteen playoff games and appears to be a bust in terms of trade positive for the team.

It's clear that the Oilers will need to make some changes to their blue line as
Game 3 exposed their flaws. Players like Cody Ceci, Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard had a particularly tough game when the Stars took over in the second period.

Losing Stecher is certainly a blow to the Oilers depth and would have given the defence corps a different look as Knoblauch and Paul Coffey continued to search for answers.

The Oilers will look to redeem themselves in game 4 as it will be held on May 29th. Game time will be 8:30 PM eastern.