Despite Nugent-Hopkins missing today's practice with illness, he'll surely be powering through any discomfort to play the biggest game of his career in Game 7. Really, Nugent-Hopkins' absence reflects more on Evander Kane.
Evander Kane has been absent since the second game of this series due to injuries affecting the quality of his play. Coach Knoblauch recently said that there's a good chance Kane will get back into the series, but this lineup suggests he might not play. With Nugent-Hopkins likely playing for Game 7, Kane seems to be skating on the first line as a placeholder.
Instead of getting Kane to take reps on the second or third line where he may actually play, practicing in Nugent-Hopkins' spot indicates that the coach wants to keep the rest of the lineup together. There's an old adage of not messing with a winning lineup, and in reality, the Oilers have played much better without Kane in this series. Even if he's healthier now, it looks like there's a chance that Kane still doesn't play in Game 7. After Game 2 in the series, Knoblauch had a long talk with Evander Kane at practice before he left early.
It's a huge loss for the Oilers to miss out on prime Evander Kane in the Cup Final, but it's already been that way through the playoffs. Kane has been significant weakened by a sports hernia and a few other injuries, and just hasn't been the player that the Oilers expect him to be - a scoring power forward. If Kane doesn't play in Game 7 it would be an entirely justified choice, and may cause the Oilers to consider moving him in the offseason.
