Connor McDavid and Jason Dickinson did not lace them up at morning skate on Tuesday, making the line combinations scattered. The two centres will be “game-time” decisions, according to Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch.

This feeds speculation that McDavid is not fully healthy. He played just 19:32 in Game 4, his lowest ice time of the series. Not once in the 2025 playoff run did McDavid play under 20 minutes.

We’ll keep an eye on his status, along with Dickinson, before puck drop.

Connor Ingram was in the starter’s net and will get the nod for the must-win contest at Rogers Place.

Tristan Jarry made 34 saves in Game 4, his first start of the series and first appearance in two-and-a-half weeks. He hadn’t played since relieving Ingram after injury concerns in the third period against the San Jose Sharks on April 8.

“Nothing against Jarry, I thought he had a solid game,” said coach Kris Knoblauch. “But going down these last few weeks or months, Ingram has been our starter. He’s been our guy. Now that our season’s on the line, we felt that we would go with our guy.”

However, the Oilers skated with different defence pairs. Those include Darnell Nurse with Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman with Connor Murphy, and Mattias Ekholm with Ty Emberson.

“There’ll be a lot of mix and match with the defence, especially with some penalty killer rotation,” said Knoblauch. “I think it was just more of getting guys used to playing with a different partner.”

Ty Emberson will likely get into the rotation, as well. He’s been on the ice for the PK for all of 19 seconds in the series. Anaheim’s power play has skewered Edmonton in the series, operating at 50 percent on 12 opportunities.

With Dickinson back in the lineup in Game 4, Colton Dach was scratched. This was due to illness, according to Knoblauch. He skated on Tuesday morning. It’s likely his status will depend on the other game-time decisions.

Oilers lines

With no formal forward lines, these were the main combinations in Game 4. The defence pairs have been changed from morning skate:

Matt Savoie – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman

Vasily Podkolzin – Leon Draisaitl – Kasperi Kapanen

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jason Dickinson – Jack Roslovic

Trent Frederic – Josh Samanski – Curtis Lazar

Darnell Nurse – Evan Bouchard

Jake Walman – Connor Murphy

Mattias Ekholm – Ty Emberson

Connor Ingram

‘Playing with confidence’

The Oilers line of Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin, and Kasperi Kapanen has been the strongest five-on-five. In 44:34 of ice time together, the trio is outscoring the Ducks 5-0 with a 57.87 expected goal percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“We haven’t really played our best yet, so obviously looking for that tonight,” said Draisaitl about the must-win Game 5. “We’ve been in worse situations, certainly, but we also know the urgency that we need to bring and what’s at stake. The group looks good to me. We’re excited for tonight.”

Kasperi Kapanen described the urgency needed.

“We obviously know how important today is. But I think if you go into the game gripping your stick a little too hard, it’s usually not going to end up too well. I think just playing with confidence. And like I said earlier, we just got a lot of veteran guys that have been through situations like this,” he said.

Connor Murphy highlighted the issues on the penalty kill in his pregame availability. But overall, the Oilers need to elevate.

“I think the care is there, I don’t think we’ve shown it yet,” said Murphy. “I dunno if I’d say intensity or the speed or the connectivity of our game hasn’t been at that level yet. I think that’s a sign that we can get there, and string wins when we do get there. Our backs are against the wall. It has to be now.”

The Ducks

Chris Kreider – Leo Carlsson – Troy Terry (didn’t skate)

Alex Killorn – Mikael Granlund– Beckett Sennecke

Mason McTavish – Ryan Poehling– Cutter Gauthier

Jeffrey Veil – Tim Washe – Ian Moore

Jackson LaCombe – Jacob Trouba

Pavel Mintyukov – John Carlson

Tyson Hinds – Drew Helleson

Lukas Dostal

The Ducks haven’t changed their lineup since Radko Gudas was pulled out after Game 1 due to a “day-to-day” injury. Drew Helleson has filled in. Otherwise, Troy Terry has been absent for all morning skates.

“You can’t get ahead of yourself because every game is a new challenge,” said Joel Quenneville, who knows the job isn’t finished for his young team. “Every game, the momentum is so important, and making sure that you do the little things well. Younger guys sometimes might be a little carried away with the game.”

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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Oilers lines

‘Playing with confidence’

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