Oilers Get Two Injury Updates at Practice, Demote Veteran Forward After Loss to Panthers
After their loss in the Stanley Cup Rematch game to the Florida Panthers, the Oilers took the ice for practice with slightly tweaked lines and injury updates on Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson.
The Oilers put up a fight against the Panthers but dropped the game by a score of 6-5, and coach Knoblauch didn't shy away from criticizing the team afterwards.
At practice today, the only change seen was veteran forward Jeff Skinner being moved down to the fourth line again. Zach Hyman was absent from practice after taking a slap shot to the face, and Viktor Arvidsson is practicing on the first line.
Viktor Arvidsson has now joined the Oilers for two practices straight after skating on his own for a while, and now practicing on the first line, it seems a return may be imminent.
Fans have grown to have some significant concerns for Arvidsson after his day to day injury progressed into a full month, while he has a long history of injuries. Hopefully when he comes back, he can deliver some of the offence the Oilers signed him for.
Zach Hyman played the rest of last night's game, but it's understandable he'd take a maintenance day after taking a shot to the face. He should still be ready to play, despite breaking his nose on the play.
Zach Hyman absent from practice, Jeff Skinner demoted to fourth line by Oilers coach Knoblauch
Jeff Skinner has seemingly been in Knoblauch's doghouse all year, and after it seemed he was settling into a decent role on the third line, he's been bumped down to the fourth again. Last night, Skinner only played 11 minutes of ice time.
He's not the reason the Oilers lost last night's game, but it does seem that Skinner just doesn't fit an identity Knoblauch wants in the lineup. The checking trio of Janmark, Henrique, and Brown has a lot more trust from the coach.
Recently, NHL insider Frank Seravalli floated the idea that the Oilers could look to trade a forward when Evander Kane returns to play. Judging by the coach's management of him, Jeff Skinner is the easy candidate to be replaced.
It's unfortunate it hasn't worked, and the Oilers could do right by him by trading him to a contender. Skinner does have a no-trade clause, and would need to approve any move.
After the Oilers dropped a highly anticipated first matchup against the Panthers, it'll be interesting to see how they respond next time out against the Boston Bruins.
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