View the Oilers projected lines, defence pairings and starting goaltender for Friday night's Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Stars at American Airlines Center
DALLAS, TX – Winger Connor Brown will suit up despite missing another pre-game skate, while defenceman Mattias Ekholm is nearing a return but remains unavailable for the Edmonton Oilers on Friday for Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said after Thursday’s practice that Ekholm still isn’t ready because of injury and won’t play in Game 2, having missed all 12 playoff games for the Oilers in 2025. But the Swedish defenceman has now strung together a few full practices and shared a long discussion with the bench boss during today’s pre-game skate, likely making his case that he’s ready and raring to get back into the lineup.
If it’s not happening tonight, there’s a good chance we see Ekholm make his return when this series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4.
“Just checking up on his family and his son William, how he’s doing in hockey and summer sports, school and all that stuff,” Knoblauch said with a smile. “But Ek is feeling good and obviously, he’s missing out. Watching the games is very difficult when you’re not playing, and he’s been in the league a long time. This is the first time he’s missed any playoff games, so he’s definitely wanting to be a part of this.”
The Oilers will go with the same six defencemen they’ve used since Game 4 of the Second Round against the Vegas Golden Knights, where Troy Stecher came into the lineup for Ty Emberson and has since been a valuable depth piece in a defensive pairing with Darnell Nurse.
Along with Kasperi Kapanen, coach Knoblauch sees Stecher as a dependable option whose versatility has already paid dividends in these playoffs.
“During the Vegas series, we felt it was time to make a change to our lineup,” Knoblauch said. “We had some guys that could add something to our team that we felt could give our team a boost, and two guys that we had inserted into the lineup were Kapanen and Stecher. Stecher had been very solid throughout the regular season, and we had confidence that he would play sometime during the playoffs and be ready because he is very dependable.
“He plays with urgency. He’s one of the smaller guys out on the ice, but he makes up for it with his intensity and the way he checks. He’s not light. He is smaller, but he’s not light because he plays physical, knows how to check, and doesn’t get bounced off as easily as maybe some other guys.
“I think with his intensity and his assertiveness, it helps our team.”
Winger Jeff Skinner was in the spot of Connor Brown during this morning’s pre-game skate, but Coach Knoblauch confirmed that Connor Brown will play.
Kris provides lineup notes before Game 2 against Dallas on Friday
View the Oilers Projected Game 2 Lineup vs. Dallas below:
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Kane – Henrique – Brown
Frederic – Janmark – Perry
Kulak – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Walman – Klingberg
Skinner
Rodrigue
