EDMONTON, AB – Forwards Noah Philp and Curtis Lazar will draw into the lineup, and Stuart Skinner will get the start in goal for the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place to conclude a three-game homestand.
Philp will centre the fourth line alongside rookie Isaac Howard and Lazar on the wing when Head Coach Kris Knoblauch reverts back to using 12 forwards and six defencemen against the Blackhawks, having gone 11-and-seven for one game on Thursday in a 4-3 overtime defeat to the New York Rangers.
Philp has two goals and an assist in six games while averaging 11:21 of ice time with the Oilers this season, and Coach Knoblauch wants to involve the 27-year-old more in the penalty kill moving forward to give him more of a role and complement the speed, skill and tenacity that he brings to the lineup.
"We want a guy playing with a little speed, a little tenacity, and he definitely has those attributes," Knoblauch said. "We'd like to work him in and get him involved in the penalty kill if he's a part of this team, and whether that starts tonight, tomorrow, whatever or whenever. But if that's his chair and he's going to be with his team, I think that's somewhere that he can contribute.
"I think with our team, we're always looking to get a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, and Noah could help with those aspects."
Both Philp and Lazar will make their first appearances since suiting up in different games during last weekend's back-to-back on the West Coast against the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken. Lazar is set to make his home debut at Rogers Place, where he played four seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings and won a Memorial Cup and two Ed Chynoweth Cups.
