Edmonton Oilers’ playoff lineup much healthier but still missing parts

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The biggest question surrounding the Edmonton Oilers heading into the post-season was exactly what Edmonton Oilers team would we see come out of the gates in the playoffs.

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Would it be the same banged-up version that limped down the playoff stretch with half a dozen key injuries at any one time, including superstar centres Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl?

Or were they all playing possum, choosing rest and recovery over playing through even the most minor of bumps and bruises in order to be as close to 100 per cent as possible, with the full lineup coming back in place just in time?

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It turns out it was somewhere in between, of course.

“Everyone’s excited to be playing hockey again, a lot of guys have been out of the lineup and not playing,” said Kris Knoblauch, who led the Oilers all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in his first year as Oilers head coach a season ago. “We’ve been waiting a long time to get back in the playoffs and do this all over again.

“Obviously, last year was a pretty good experience for us and we’d like to have a long push again, like we did last year. But obviously it’s not going to be easy and it starts with a very difficult task against L.A.”

One made more difficult by some injuries that carried over to the post-season.

Mattias Ekholm had already been ruled out of the series, leaving the Oilers without their top defensive force, a blow that hit harder with the continued absence of fellow defencemen Troy Stecher and John Klingberg.

That left the Oilers having to make what Knoblauch called a game-time decision between playing American Hockey League callups Josh Brown or Cam Dineen on the blue line. Though, Brown was on the ice with Ty Emberson for the morning skate.

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Newcomer Trent Frederic, who brought a high-ankle sprain along with him to Edmonton at the trade deadline and only went out for one unsuccessful in-game test drive, was also listed as a game-time decision heading in.

Then there is the curious case of Evander Kane. You remember, the Oilers forward who hasn’t played a game since that Game 7 in Fort Lauderdale last June? He’s been out all year, finally undergoing hip surgery and then knee surgery before getting back to skating with the squad in practices in an effort to rejoin the lineup in time for playoffs.

Only he didn’t make it in time. At least, not for Game 1, anyway. Which begs the question, with all the time off up to this point, how much difference could another couple days make in his recovery?

While he has always been scheduled to make an appearance at some point in these playoffs, the question is when will the Oilers finally be able to add his physicality and tenacity — both highly sought traits some playoffs, especially — back into their lineup?

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What wasn’t in question was the fact the Oilers needed as many hands on deck as they could get with Game 1 of their opening-round series against — surprise, surprise — the same Los Angeles Kings they beat to open the playoffs each of the last three years. Except this time, the Kings were the ones holding home-ice advantage, meaning Monday’s game was held at Crypto.com Arena, where the Kings posted a league-leading 31 wins over the regular season.

Jeff Skinner waited his entire NHL career so far, 1,078 games over 15 seasons, to appear in his first playoff game. And while he had trouble finding his footing since coming over from the Buffalo Sabres in free agency last summer, he came on strong down the stretch this year, earning 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in the last 29 games of the regular season.

Stuart Skinner was named the starting goalie for Game 1, despite having missed nine of the final 11 regular-season games after suffering a concussion in a crease collision with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen.

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He came back in time to make 17 of 18 saves in a win against the Winnipeg Jets, before capping the regular season off with an 18-save shutout against the San Jose Sharks to prove to his coach he was playoff ready.

Defenceman Brett Kulak had to make a quick trip north to Canmore for the birth of his second child, but was on a return flight by the time the Oilers wrapped up Monday’s morning skate.

“It actually came a little bit early, a girl,” Knoblauch said. “Everyone’s doing well.”

Kulak was in a pairing with Jake Walman, another trade-deadline addition who ran into injury trouble, missing the final five games of the regular season, but was ready to go Monday.

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On X: @GerryModdejonge

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