PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Canucks

EDMONTON, AB – No time for rest when there’s home-ice advantage on the line.

The Edmonton Oilers will start Connor Ingram and receive Zach Hyman back for Thursday’s regular-season finale at Rogers Place against the Vancouver Canucks, looking to win the two points in a playoff-like envirmonent to finish second in the Pacific and secure home-ice advantage in the First Round.

“I think we always say there are a lot of games that feel like playoff games, but there's nothing really that is this close,” Ingram said. “So I think this is a better situation than having 10 games of coasting to get to the end.  But playoffs are just a different animal.”

Ingram will make his fifth start in seven games this month, while Hyman is expected to return to the lineup after missing the previous five games for the Oilers to make sure he’s 100 percent ready for the physicality that’s set to come in the playoffs.

A single point against the Canucks would secure the Oilers home ice in the First Round and set up Game 1 at Rogers Place on Monday against either Los Angeles or Anaheim, but defeat could see them start that series on the road or drop to the second Wild Card, which would mean a Sunday start against the Colorado Avalanche.

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“I think home ice, it does play a factor in the playoffs, and going against the best team in the league in the first round is a tough task,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said.  So I don't know if it's necessarily something where you're scared to play them, but you know that they're going to have momentum rolling into that first round. So our goal is to win a hockey game and finish as high as we can.”

The Oilers can’t afford to rest any players heading into the playoffs with so much at stake on Thursday, but the opportunity to tear this final regular-season game like it were the playoffs could set themselves up for home ice and a strong start in the postseason.

“I think most of the time, usually that last game decides you're seeding somewhere,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “But I think it's for us, it's important that we're playing competitive hockey, playing the right way, and treating this like a playoff game.”

“Maybe it'd be nice to be able to rest some guys and not run the risk of somebody getting banged up, but the flip side of it is that we're just not taking a step back.  We're just continuing to build on our game.”

The Canucks may sit 32nd in the NHL for the best odds to select first overall this summer, but the Oilers' Pacific rival that most recently pushed them to Game 7 in the 2024 Second Round has been on a late-season run of three straight victories and will be motivated to end their hopes of home ice.

The Oilers will receive an injection of offence from Hyman's return that can hopefully spark their goalscoring after scoring one goal or fewer in their last three games, with the defence & penalty kill looking in strong form entering tonight's regular-season conclusion against the Caucks.

"I think this can definitely work as a positive," Nugent-Hopkins said about the importance of Game 82. "You always want to find your game approaching the playoffs, and right now, we have no choice but to do that. So I think the way we've been playing lately, especially on the defensive side, has been a good indication of what we can bring in the playoffs.

"Tonight, we understand where these guys are at and how they're playing.  They're playing free, and they're playing loose, and they're playing good hockey.  So we have to prepare for that and make sure that our defensive mindset stays the same.  We don't just try to kind of run and gun and open things up."

With the expected return of Zach Hyman, forward Isaac Howard was loaned to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors following Thursday's optional morning skate. Leon Draisaitl was on the ice but remains out until sometime during the First Round, while Jason Dickinson will have his status re-evaluated after the conclusion of the regular season.

The lines are based on Wednesday's full practice and will be confirmed during warmups.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. the Canucks below:

Savoie - McDavid - Hyman
Podkolzin - Nugent-Hopkins - Roslovic
Dach - Samanski - Frederic
Lazar - Henrique - Kapanen 

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Murphy
Walman - Emberson

Ingram
Jarry