Oilers lineup still uncertain for Game 1 against Kings

SAN JOSE -- Kris Knoblauch will likely use a pencil with a fresh eraser to put together a lineup for the injury-riddled Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings.

The Edmonton coach expects to have most of his players available for the start of the best-of-7 series at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles on Monday (10 p.m. ET; FDSNW, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN) but won’t know for sure until game day.

The uncertainty has presented issues developing a strategy for the fourth consecutive meeting between the Oilers and Kings in the first round.

“Absolutely there is not knowing exactly who you have coming back,” Knoblauch said Saturday following a sparsely attended skate at the San Jose Sharks practice facility before departing for Los Angeles. “And then with everyone coming back; Leon [Draisaitl] hasn’t played in a few weeks, Connor [McDavid] just returned, and Zach Hyman hasn’t played. We definitely have uncertainty with our lines and who is going to be playing.”

McDavid played four of the last five games of the regular season after missing eight from March 22 to April 7 with a lower-body injury, sustained in a 4-3 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets on March 20.

Draisaitl, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard winner as the NHL’s goal-scoring leader with 52 goals (54 assists, 106 points) in 71 games, missed the last seven games after sustaining his injury in a 3-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on April 3.

Prior to that, Draisaitl missed four games with an undisclosed injury sustained in a 7-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club on March 18. Hyman missed the last three games of the regular season with an undisclosed injury.

All are expected to play in Game 1.

“You have guys that play up in our lineup and play a lot of minutes,” Knoblauch said. “But are they going to pick up where they left off? There will be a lot of evaluating right at the start of the game and seeing who is ready to go and who is going to contribute, because we’re going to need them right away.”

It is not only up front where the Oilers are hurting.

Defenseman Jake Walman missed the last five games with an undisclosed injury, but his status looks positive for Game 1. Defenseman Troy Stecher missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and is currently not with the team in California.

Defenseman Mattias Ekholm has been ruled out of the first round with an undisclosed injury, and goalie Stuart Skinner played two games after sustaining a head injury in a 4-3 loss against the Dallas Stars on March 26.

Knoblauch would not reveal if Skinner or Calvin Pickard would start Game 1 against the Kings.

“I think the important thing for our team is to simplify our game and simplify the messages from the coaches and what we need to do and not overcomplicating things,” Knoblauch said. “Ultimately, it’s going to come down to us playing a simplified, hard-working game and try to capitalize on any mistakes we force LA into.”

Edmonton won the past three playoff series against Los Angeles with home-ice advantage on each occasion. This season, the Kings finished second in the Pacific Division, four points ahead of the Oilers, and get to start at home.

Reinforcements from injury reserve could also be on the way back for Edmonton.

Forward Evander Kane, who missed the entire season after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia and then his knee, is close according to Knoblauch, as is John Klingberg, who sustained a lower-body injury blocking a shot in a 6-2 loss against the Anaheim Ducks on March 4.

Forward Trent Frederic is working his way back from a high ankle sprain sustained as a member of the Boston Bruins before he was acquired by the Oilers in a three-team trade that also included the New Jersey Devils on March 4. He could be available for Game 1.

“It feels great,” Frederic said Saturday. “The last couple of skates have been awesome. It's everything I could have asked for and I’m pretty excited.”

Frederic has been limited to one brief appearance with the Oilers, lasting 7:10 in a 3-0 loss at the Kings on April 5, where he re-aggravated the injury.

“It’s easy to get down, but there are a lot of good people in that (locker) room that cheered me up and got me back to where I needed to be, so there’s a lot of positives in there,” Frederic said. “Obviously I was hoping to play a little more hockey before (the playoffs) but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”

If Frederic is available in the series, Knoblauch will need to figure out where to deploy him in the lineup.

“He’s very versatile and where does he fit best? Is he a left winger, center, right wing, he can do all those things,” Knoblauch said. “We’d thought we’d have him for a few games in the regular season to play and he got into one but had a little setback. It would be nice, but anytime we have a player like Trent to come in, he’s going to be a help whenever he gets into the lineup and make our team better.”