There’s only one second-round series left, and the winner of the final four of the National Hockey League playoffs has yet to be determined.
That series is the Pacific Division match-up between the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
Tonight, Game 6 of the series takes place, as the Canucks, with a 3-2 series lead, have the chance to eliminate the Oilers.
Edmonton faces elimination at home tonight, and will be looking to stay alive by forcing a seventh and final game.
For the occasion, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch could make some intriguing and interesting changes to his line-up.
According to Frank Seravalli, veteran Montreal Canadien Corey Perry could be left out, while Stuart Skinner could be back in net.
We’ll see what develops this morning, but the belief is these are the changes for #Oilers:
Stuart Skinner starts Game 6.
Adam Henrique in for Corey Perry.
Not written in sharpie, some things to sort out this morning.
– Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 18, 2024
Wow.
If these two potential changes are confirmed, they’re two very big risks for Knoblauch.
Taking Perry out of the lineup for such an important playoff game could be a big mistake, even if Perry has no points in ten playoff games this season.
Perry’s ability to be clutch when his team needs him most is well known.
It’s Adam Henrique who should take his place in the line-up, should Perry be withdrawn.
Henrique, who has been sidelined by injury for the past four games, has one goal and one assist in six playoff games.
He’ll clearly help the Oilers, but removing Perry from the lineup is a big gamble.
As for the Oilers’ starting goaltender, I jumped when I saw Seravalli explain that Stuart Skinner could get the start tonight.
Skinner is having a very tough series, while Calvin Pickard has been performing very well since he replaced Skinner in Game #3.
Playoff stats for both goalies:
Skinner – .877 save percentage and 3.22 goals-against average in eight games.
Pickard – .915 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against average in three games.
It may seem like a simple choice, but it looks like Knoblauch prefers to trust his starting goaltender for this one-off Oilers game.
It will be very interesting to see what effect these two potential changes will have, as Oilers fans are currently in a panic on social networks.
In Bursts
– No office job for Zach Parise.
Zach Parise said he has no plans to work in a front office. He wants to coach his kids, fish and golf.
I joked, ‘You’re going to be Joe Mauer on skates?!” and then shared about how Mauer gave him one of the best outlooks on professionalism he’d ever heard: pic.twitter.com/21wAqGEh13
– Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) May 18, 2024
– Mike Sullivan will be the U.S. head coach at the Four Nations Tournament.
Mike Sullivan has been named head coach of Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team.
Details → https://t.co/WAWDhWkeX3 pic.twitter.com/kJ5pvJOBbs
– USA Hockey (@usahockey) May 18, 2024
– Read.
Should the Blackhawks draft Ivan Demidov? A Russian scout addresses the unknowns: https://t.co/Z3TIALPUWF
– Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) May 18, 2024
– The Stars were excellent against the Avalanche.
The Dallas Stars are off to the Western Conference Final. The Stars held the Avs to just over 5 rush chances per game after Colorado led the NHL this season, averaging nearly 8 per game. pic.twitter.com/ygso5ysrUO
– Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) May 18, 2024
– Heavy loss.
The loss of Lee is combined with an ordinary performance by the California team so far. https://t.co/eb4qnlFzxJ
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) May 18, 2024
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