Oilers make 2 lineup changes, shuffle lines for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final

The Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers will play Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday. CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Lampa has the latest.

Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch made a few changes in Thursday morning’s skate ahead of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Forward Jeff Skinner and defenceman Troy Stecher came in for forward Viktor Arvidsson and defenceman John Klingberg, respectively, Oilers reporters in south Florida said.

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Skinner was on the third line with Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic, while Stecher was on the second line with Darnell Nurse.

“It’s obviously a big game,” Knoblauch told reporters after the skate. “(I) felt that we have a lot of good players, a lot of good players that have been in and out of the lineup, and some players haven’t seen any game action so far in this series, and we felt that we could use a change.

“We’ve seen it throughout the playoffs, where we’ve made alterations to our lineup and it’s benefited us, and it’s been difficult to take those guys out, not because they’ve been playing poorly, it’s just we feel that we’ve got something with guys who have been out. So we’re making some adjustments.”

Knoblauch also said he’s been impressed with how Stecher — who hasn’t played since Mattias Ekholm returned to the lineup against Dallas in the Western Conference Final — has done when he’s had opportunities.

“He’s always had to find his best immediately, because if he’s not at his best, he might not be playing again,” the coach said. “That mentality has helped him quite a bit and we’ve benefited from it because with our defence that we’ve had, we’ve got a lot of guys, we’ve moved guys around a little bit, in and out of lineup, and Troy has always given us a good performance.”

Stecher told reporters he’s excited to play in his first Stanley Cup Final game.

“Everything’s a little bit magnified but at the end of the day, it’s just another game,” he said. “So I know what makes me a successful player. I know what adds to our group, and now it’s my responsibility to go there and do that.”

Oilers lines for Game 4

Forward Connor Brown was moved to the top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, while Corey Perry was moved down to the fourth line with Mattias Janmark and Vasily Podkolzin.

Stuart Skinner is starting in goal for the Oilers. There were questions about whether Calvin Pickard would take his spot Thursday night after he replaced Skinner in net toward the end of Game 3, but Skinner remains the Oilers starter.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been really impressed with how Stu has handled a lot of things, one being adversity,” Knoblauch said when asked about his decision to start Skinner.

“Things haven’t always gone smoothly, but he’s been able to work it out and respond nicely. Another one is just how well he’s played in the second half of series. That goes for every single series last year, this year, and there’s confidence (that) he’s a guy that’s going to just continue to get better as the series goes on, and hopefully we’ve got a few more games that he can stand up and play really well.”

The Panthers lead the Stanley Cup Final two games to one.

Game 4 is scheduled for just after 6 p.m. in Sunrise, Fla.