The Edmonton Oilers had one of their worst games of the playoffs on Monday night. After two impressive outings to begin the Stanley Cup Final, they were throttled by the Florida Panthers at the Amerant Bank Arena, falling by an ugly 6-1 final in Game 3.
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Head coach Kris Knoblauch does not shy away from switching up his lineup after a tough showing, and that may very well be the case after two straight losses. He’s already said that he and his coaching staff have yet to make a decision on who will be in between the pipes on Thursday night, though that might not be the only change he makes.
While the entire Oilers team struggled against the Panthers on Monday, John Klingberg looked completely out of sorts. The 32-year-old had turned back the clock through the first three rounds of the playoffs after an underwhelming showing in his short stint during the regular season. In Game 3, he looked like he did in the regular season.
Klingberg played just 17:36 in Game 3, numbers that would have been lower had Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm not both been ejected from the contest. During that time, he had a team-worst minus-3 while mustering just one shot on net. It was clear early on that the Swedish defenceman didn’t look comfortable, as his usual solid and crisp breakout passes throughout the playoffs were anything but on Monday. Pucks were bobbling off his stick, and when they weren’t, his outlet passes missed his teammates.
Klingberg’s worst moment of the game came in the second period when he failed to move the puck out of his zone in time and was taken to the ice by Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, along with the accidental help of a referee. The puck ended up in the back of the Oilers’ net just seconds later to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead.
Given how poorly he played, many are calling for Troy Stecher to get back into the lineup for Game 4 in Florida. Knoblauch told reporters on Wednesday morning that there will be a change to his lines for Thursday’s outing, and that one seems the most obvious of the bunch.
Stecher has been back in the press box since Ekholm returned for Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, though the demotion wasn’t a result of poor play. Stecher had been great for the Oilers on the back end but was simply the victim of a numbers game, as all other defencemen were also playing well. After Klingberg’s poor showing on Monday, Stecher might get another opportunity soon.
What makes Stecher so valuable to the Oilers is that he formed a very solid pairing with Nurse, a defenceman who has struggled with several other partners. Getting him back alongside Nurse to elevate his play would be very beneficial to an Oilers team that has given up 14 goals through the first three games of this series.
Knoblauch could also decide to insert both Klingberg and Stecher into the lineup for Game 4. The Oilers’ depth scoring has also struggled in this series, which could see a forward such as Trent Frederic come out in favour of 11 forwards and seven defencemen. This would allow Klingberg a chance at redemption, as he had been a huge boost to the Oilers before Game 3. If he struggles again, he could essentially ride the game out on the bench in favour of Stecher.
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With one more night off until Game 4, we likely won’t know what Knoblauch has up his sleeve until the morning skate on Thursday. Whether he goes with one less forward and an extra blueliner remains to be seen, but all signs are pointing towards Stecher making his first appearance in this year’s Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night.
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