Yahoo Sports Oilers Set New Lineup With Viktor Arvidsson's Return
For the first time in more than a month, the Oilers are at full strength.
Tonight marks Viktor Arvidsson's return from a still-undisclosed injury that's kept him out since November 13th, missing 15 games during that time. The Oilers have remade themselves in his absence, going 10-4-1 since his injury and adding another winger in Kasperi Kapanen.
That means Arvidsson will have to adjust to a new role as the Oilers ice a brand-new lineup tonight against Boston.
Oilers lines & pairings at Morning Skate:
RNH - McDavid - Hyman
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Kapanen
Arvidsson - Henrique - Brown
Skinner - Janmark - Perry
Ryan
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson
Skinner#Oilers— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) December 19, 2024
With Kapanen establishing himself on the second line, Arvidsson will start on the third line, next to Adam Henrique and the streaking Connor Brown, who has goals in three straight games. Arvidsson's return also pushes Jeff Skinner back down to the fourth line, where Mattias Janmark will shift over to centre.
The result should be one of the best bottom sixes in the league, boasting five players with 30-goal seasons to their name. It's not your traditional grinding, two-way bottom six, but it's still got plenty of grit and aggression to go with all that skill. Arvidsson and Brown in particular are two of the most tenacious forecheckers you'll ever see.
Add that on to the Oilers' fearsome top six and you've got one of the deepest forward corps in the NHL. This lineup also serves as a confirmation of sorts for Kapanen, who's gone from waiver wire pickup to emergency second-line replacement to legit top-sixer next to an MVP candidate in the span of a month.
The Oilers will also welcome back Zach Hyman, who won't miss any time after taking an Evan Bouchard slapshot to the face on Monday against Florida.
Hyman was lucky to come away with nothing more than a broken nose, though that's of course no walk in the park. Hyman told reporters it "sounded like a bag of chips" when the doctor re-broke his nose on Tuesday. Gross.
The Oilers will deploy this new lineup for the first time tonight against the Boston Bruins, starting at 7:00 on Sportsnet One.
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