<p>The collective breath of Edmontonians was held Sunday morning as <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/30/edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-second-fastest-player-100-playoff-assists/">Connor McDavid</a> left an <a href="http://oilersnation.com/combinations">Oilers</a> practice early.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The team hit the ice at Rogers Place, days ahead of opening the Stanley Cup Finals on home ice Wednesday, and McDavid joined the team for the first 10 minutes, <em>Oilersnation&#8217;s</em> Jason Gregor noted. But then he spoke with trainers before leaving the ice. The rest of the team continued for another 30 minutes, Gregor added.</p>
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<p>But after practice, Oilers head coach <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/13/kris-knoblauch-deserves-flowers-edmonton-oilers-game-4-win/">Kris Knoblauch</a> dispelled any concerns.</p>
<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll be fine, no issues,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>There was some good news for the Oilers as <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/28/edmonton-oilers-rule-out-connor-brown-game-5-dallas-stars/">Connor Brown</a> skated with the team. He didn&#8217;t skate on a line, instead he wore a grey jersey as an extra, skating with the likes of Max Jones and Derek Ryan. Brown, Knoblauch said, is expected to be ready for Game 1.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think he&#8217;ll be fine,&#8221; said Knoblauch. &#8220;You saw him on the ice, double-shifting, and I&#8217;m pretty sure and confident he&#8217;ll be fine for Game 1.&#8221;</p>
<p>Brown missed all Game 4 and 5, as well as part of Game 3, of the Western Conference Final after <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/25/edmonton-oilers-connor-brown-leaves-game-3-dallas-stars-taking-big-hit/">taking a big hit</a> from Dallas Stars defenceman Alex Petrovic.</p>
<p>At practice, the Oilers kept their lines and defensive pairings the same as what helped them clinch the Western Conference Final, Oilers TV&#8217;s Tony Bray noted.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">EDM lines &amp; pairings &#8211; Sunday practice:</p>
<p>RNH &#8211; McDavid &#8211; Perry<br />Kane &#8211; Draisaitl &#8211; Kapanen<br />Skinner &#8211; Henrique &#8211; Frederic<br />Podkolzin &#8211; Janmark &#8211; Arvidsson</p>
<p>• Brown, Ryan, Jones</p>
<p>Ekholm &#8211; Bouchard<br />Nurse &#8211; Kulak<br />Walman &#8211; Klingberg</p>
<p>• Stecher, Emberson</p>
<p>Skinner<br />Pickard<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oilers</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/TonyBrarOTV/status/1929223436196286833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Connor McDavid centred Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Perry on the top line, while Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen flanked Leon Draisaitl on the second. Jeff Skinner was to the left of Adam Henrique, and Trent Frederic to the right on the third line, while Mattias Janmark was between Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson.</p>
<p>Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard were on the top pair, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak on the second and Jake Walman and John Klingberg on the third.</p>
<p><a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/29/oilers-will-host-panthers-for-game-1-of-stanley-cup-final-on-wednesday/">Game 1</a> of the Stanley Cup Final is set for Wednesday night, starting at 6:00 pm MT.</p>
<h2>READ MORE</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/dallas-stars-roope-hintz-edmonton-oilers-darnell-nurse-slash-broken-foot">Stars’ Roope Hintz confirms Oilers’ Darnell Nurse’s slash broke his foot</a></li>
<li><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-troy-stecher-discusses-role-chance-win-stanley-cup-scowl">Oilers’ Troy Stecher Discusses his Role, A Chance to Win and his Scowl</a></li>
<li><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/matthew-tkachuk-thinks-edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-best-nhl-teams">Matthew Tkachuk on Oilers vs. Panthers rematch: ‘It’s pretty clear that we’re the two best teams’</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QX_QCiZyIo&amp;list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at</span></i> <em><a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">@zjlaing</span></a></em><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>,</em> or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.</span></i></p>
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The collective breath of Edmontonians was held Sunday morning as <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/30/edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-second-fastest-player-100-playoff-assists/">Connor McDavid</a> left an <a href="http://oilersnation.com/combinations">Oilers</a> practice early.



The team hit the ice at Rogers Place, days ahead of opening the Stanley Cup Finals on home ice Wednesday, and McDavid joined the team for the first 10 minutes, <em>Oilersnation's</em> Jason Gregor noted. But then he spoke with trainers before leaving the ice. The rest of the team continued for another 30 minutes, Gregor added.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2107" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="325"></div>
But after practice, Oilers head coach <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/13/kris-knoblauch-deserves-flowers-edmonton-oilers-game-4-win/">Kris Knoblauch</a> dispelled any concerns.

"He'll be fine, no issues," he said.

There was some good news for the Oilers as <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/28/edmonton-oilers-rule-out-connor-brown-game-5-dallas-stars/">Connor Brown</a> skated with the team. He didn't skate on a line, instead he wore a grey jersey as an extra, skating with the likes of Max Jones and Derek Ryan. Brown, Knoblauch said, is expected to be ready for Game 1.

"I think he'll be fine," said Knoblauch. "You saw him on the ice, double-shifting, and I'm pretty sure and confident he'll be fine for Game 1."

Brown missed all Game 4 and 5, as well as part of Game 3, of the Western Conference Final after <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/25/edmonton-oilers-connor-brown-leaves-game-3-dallas-stars-taking-big-hit/">taking a big hit</a> from Dallas Stars defenceman Alex Petrovic.

At practice, the Oilers kept their lines and defensive pairings the same as what helped them clinch the Western Conference Final, Oilers TV's Tony Bray noted.

https://twitter.com/TonyBrarOTV/status/1929223436196286833

Connor McDavid centred Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Perry on the top line, while Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen flanked Leon Draisaitl on the second. Jeff Skinner was to the left of Adam Henrique, and Trent Frederic to the right on the third line, while Mattias Janmark was between Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson.

Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard were on the top pair, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak on the second and Jake Walman and John Klingberg on the third.

<a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/05/29/oilers-will-host-panthers-for-game-1-of-stanley-cup-final-on-wednesday/">Game 1</a> of the Stanley Cup Final is set for Wednesday night, starting at 6:00 pm MT.
<h2>READ MORE</h2>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/dallas-stars-roope-hintz-edmonton-oilers-darnell-nurse-slash-broken-foot">Stars’ Roope Hintz confirms Oilers’ Darnell Nurse’s slash broke his foot</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-troy-stecher-discusses-role-chance-win-stanley-cup-scowl">Oilers’ Troy Stecher Discusses his Role, A Chance to Win and his Scowl</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/matthew-tkachuk-thinks-edmonton-oilers-florida-panthers-best-nhl-teams">Matthew Tkachuk on Oilers vs. Panthers rematch: ‘It’s pretty clear that we’re the two best teams’</a></li>
</ul>

<hr />

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QX_QCiZyIo&amp;list=PLRSWOpthKmdtmFOKQDd7TQdTU2KSKXYvX">DFO DFS Report</a>. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at</span></i> <em><a href="http://www.x.com/zjlaing"><span style="font-weight: 400;">@zjlaing</span></a></em><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>,</em> or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.</span></i>

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