For Game 4, Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch thinks he may alter his defence lineup. Although he stayed silent, there is a rumour that Philip Broberg would start in the starting lineup for Game 4 against the Dallas Stars. We may insert a defenseman in whom we have great confidence.
We’re still debating our best course of action. He continued by saying that since the six defensemen they have used have game experience, it would be challenging to change the lineup. For the entire 15 games of the playoffs, the Oilers have experimented with several pairings.
In the second period of Game 3 on Monday night, with the club terribly suffering, Knoblauch reverted to the tandem of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci, which has been a disaster analytically. After losing that game and going down 2-1 in the series, it might be time for a more drastic move.
Who Comes Out of the Lineup?
Darnell Nurse is taking a ton of heat on Tuesday after a lousy showing in Game 3. In fact, Nurse has struggled on and off during this season’s playoffs, going a league-leading plus/minus -12. Knoblauch said he takes plus/minus with a grain of salt but also noted that Nurse can play better. He’s being cratered at times defensively, and it seems to get worse when he’s on the ice with Cody Ceci.
It would be one thing if Nurse was having an off-game or two. But, as a $9.5 million defenseman, there’s some talk about sending a clear message that he’s being paid to be better. Can the Oilers justify taking out a player who eats that many minutes and makes that much money?
Speaking of Ceci, he too has been less than reliable. There are times when he’s fine, and others when it’s hard to argue using him as the sixth defenseman on the roster. Ceci has had his moments offensively, but on the defensive side, the Oilers need more from him.
The other option would be to run 11-7, which seems unlikely considering the Oilers are arguably already pushing their top forwards too hard.
It’s not clear if Broberg will be the answer to the Oilers’ problems of holding a lead or playing consistent hockey through 60 minutes. But, the one thing Edmonton likely won’t struggle to find in his game is motivation. This is player who might get his first shot at playoff hockey on Wednesday and his mindset will likely be to play well enough that the Oilers would need to question taking him out.
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