Edmonton makes changes seeking to tie series against Florida
© Andy Devlin/NHLI
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Troy Stecher and Jeff Skinner each will make his debut in the Stanley Cup Final for the Edmonton Oilers against the Florida Panthers in Game 4 at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Stecher, a defenseman, will replace John Klingberg. Skinner, a forward, will replace Viktor Arvidsson and play on a line with center Adam Henrique and right wing Trent Frederic. Stuart Skinner will start in goal.
Florida leads the best-of-7 series 2-1.
“I’m excited obviously, it’s the first game for me in the Final,” Stecher said Thursday following the morning skate. “It’s a good opportunity for our group, so I’m excited to try to add to it.”
Evaluating the Oilers defensive corps in the Stanley Cup Final
Stecher does not have a point in six games for Edmonton in the postseason. He had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 66 games during the regular season.
The 31-year-old was inserted into the lineup for Games 4 and 5 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights and played the first four games of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars.
Stecher was replaced in Game 5 against Dallas by Mattias Ekholm, who returned from an undisclosed injury after missing the first 15 games of the playoffs. Edmonton eliminated Dallas in five games to set up the Final rematch against Florida.
“Troy’s a competitor,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s little, he’s undersized (5-foot-10, 184-pounds) and he’s probably been told many times he’s not going to make it to the NHL, and if he does make it, he’s not going to make an impact, and he’s got the feistiness and that determination to be able stick around and have a pretty good NHL career.”
Stecher is in his ninth NHL season. He was acquired by Edmonton in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 7, 2024, but did not play in the playoffs last season because of an ankle injury, which required surgery.
Stecher does have physicality in his game, which Knoblauch hopes is effective against the Panthers and their aggressive forecheck.
“I think I play a simple and steady game, I don’t do anything great, I don’t make a lot of mistakes, and I feel like they know what to expect out of me every night,” Stecher said. “More than anything, I’ve just embraced my role as an individual player trying to add to this team.
“Do I want to play every night? Of course, but it’s not my decision. You’ve got to be the best teammate you can be and that’s coming to the rink and working as hard as you can and being prepared for when your number does get called. I think the coaches understand that I work hard and that I’ll be ready.”
Stecher will play on a pair with Darnell Nurse, whom he was paired with against the Stars.
“He’s a smart player, he’s a competitor,” Knoblauch said of Stecher. “He and Darnell have played really well this season, whether it’s been regular season or playoffs. I can’t really put my finger on why, but the tandem with those two have been really good. Hopefully tonight, we get another really good performance from those two, because we’re going to need it.”
NHL Now discusses the Oilers goaltending after allowing six goals in game 3
The Oilers were outplayed in a 6-1 loss in Game 3 on Monday and changes were expected for Game 4.
Jeff Skinner will be playing in his third playoff game. He has a goal and assist in these playoffs, the only two postseason games of his career.
Skinner scored in a 6-3 win at the Stars in Game 5 of the conference final, which clinched the series for Edmonton. He has been a healthy scratch in 17 of the Oilers’ 19 games this postseason.
“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,” Knoblauch said. “We felt that we could use a change and have those guys come in and give us a boost.
“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, because it’s not that they’ve played poorly, but we feel like we’ve got something with guys that have been out, so we’re making some adjustments.”
Stuart Skinner has allowed 13 goals on 97 shots through the first three games of the Final (3.74 goals-against average, .866 save percentage) and was pulled from Game 3 after allowing five goals on 23 shots. Calvin Pickard stopped seven of eight shots in relief and is 6-0 this postseason with a 2.87 GAA and an .888 save percentage.
“I felt like I was going to be in,” Skinner said. “I don’t really see too much reason to panic quite, quite yet. I think it’s a good opportunity for me to come back. I know obviously we lost two in a row and I’m good in these situations, I know how to bounce back, I know how to play well. So it’s just getting back to that.”
FLA vs. EDM
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK

source