Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins confirmed to the media today that Oilers top line center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will return to the line-up on Monday night when the club hosts the New Jersey Devils. This means that RNH, who most feared would be gone for a whole month, will only miss two games, opening night, and tomorrow against the Canucks.
RNH will most likely slide into the center spot held by Marc Arcobello, between David Perron and Nail Yakupov. Taylor Hall said he’ll be staying at center until Sam Gagner returns from injury, which could come in the next few weeks.
Getting RNH back is a huge boost to the Oilers lineup. Edmonton was short on centers to begin with, but the injuries to RNH and Gagner left them with one legit NHL level center. Getting RNH back will be big for their playoff hopes and should make them tougher to play against. All in all, this is great news for the Oilers. 93 will be back on Monday!
Line-up Updates:
Not exactly the news Oilers fans were hoping for, but Ryan Smyth is still on the top line, and will most likely be there on Saturday night in Vancouver. He will be with Taylor Hall and Ales Hemsky, on a line that has not changed since camp opened up about a month ago. Jesse Joensuu moves up to the second line on the left wing, and will play with Jordan Eberle and veteran center Boyd Gordon.
David Perron and Nail Yakupov will be working together with Marc Arcobello. Arco had some decent chances on Tuesday night, but was unable to convert on any of his chances, including one that could have tied the game late. Part of me thinks that he’ll be fighting to stay with the big club on Saturday. Wouldn’t be shocked if he was sent down on Monday, while Ryan Hamilton was recalled.
Line four still has Will Acton at the center spot, while tough guys Mike Brown and Luke Gazdic skate on the wings. Gazdic took Oilers fans by storm with a good debut on Tuesday night, while Acton was okay at best. Mike Brown? Let’s just say the Oilers could do better in that spot.
Defensively there are no surprises. Ladislav Smid and Jeff Petry will be together on the top pairing. They looked pretty good on Tuesday. Andrew Ference and Justin Schultz will be on the second pairing, while Nick Schultz skates with big boy Anton Belov.
Ryan Smyth-Taylor Hall-Ales Hemsky
Jesse Joensuu-Boyd Gordon-Jordan Eberle
David Perron-Marc Arcobello-Nail Yakupov
Luke Gazdic-Will Acton-Mike Brown
Ladislav Smid-Jeff Petry
Andrew Ference-Justin Schultz
Nick Schultz-Anton Belov
Devan Dubnyk
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