Some late line changes saw Ryan Nugent-Hopkins out of the Edmonton Oilers lineup Sunday night when they hosted the Ottawa Senators.
The longest-serving member of the team was dealing with an illness, Bob Stauffer reported ahead of the game.
And with Nugent-Hopkins not able to man the first-line left-wing spot, where he’s grown so accustomed to playing alongside Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman, Viktor Arvidsson slid up to that spot. Derek Ryan, meanwhile, drew back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the last two games.
Arvidsson returned to the Oilers lineup Thursday against the Boston Bruins after dealing with an injury that sidelined him for 15 games — three more than he played with the team prior to exiting the lineup. He said it was an injury that had been nagging for some time, and that he was happy to get back into the lineup feeling good.
In his two games back, Arvidsson has taken four shots on goal, and blocked one, while playing 11:56 in his debut and 13:12 in his second game. He’s had brief looks alongside McDavid so far since joining the Oilers, playing 9:13 at five-on-five since joining the Oilers this season.
Arvidsson signed a two-year, $4-million AAV deal with Edmonton this summer.
Nugent-Hopkins, meanwhile, misses his first game of the season with injuries and illness have been few and far between for him in the last number of years. He’s appeared in 33 games this year for the Oilers, scoring six goals and 18 points, while averaging 19 minutes and 20 seconds per night.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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