Oilers’ Connor Brown out for Game 4 with upper-body injury; Calvin Pickard returning as backup
The Edmonton Oilers will be without winger Connor Brown for Tuesday’s Game 4 against the Dallas Stars, as he will miss the game due to an upper-body injury according to Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
Brown sustained the injury late in the second period of Game 3 when he took a hard hit to the head from Stars defenseman Alex Petrovic. Brown left the game shortly after, and was confirmed to not be returning to the game at the start of the third period.
Brown has been having an excellent playoff run for the Oilers, with 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points in 14 games. His goal and point totals are a career-high for him in a playoff season. He also had 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 82 games in the regular season.
With Brown out of the lineup, Kasperi Kapanen will move up a spot in the lineup alongside Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic. The trio has played 2:30 together during this playoff run, with no goals occurring for either team in that brief span.
Kapanen has 1 goal in 5 games during the Oilers’ playoff run, with the lone goal being the series-winning overtime goal in Game 5 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. He also had 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points in 67 games in the regular season with the Oilers and St. Louis Blues.
In addition to Kapanen’s move up the lineup, the other lineup adjustment in the wake of Brown’s injury is Viktor Arvidsson rejoining the forward group in Kapanen’s place on the fourth line.
Arvidsson has played in 9 playoff games with 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in that time, but found himself out of the lineup recently. This comes after a season full of struggles that saw him get just 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 67 games.
Knoblauch also announced that goaltender Calvin Pickard will be returning to the lineup and backing up Stuart Skinner for Game 4. Pickard had missed the last six games with an injury.
While not originally expected to be starting games in the playoffs, Skinner’s poor form to start the playoffs gave Pickard the opportunity to be the team’s starter. He did as good of a job as the Oilers needed from him, as despite an .888 save percentage, he had a 6-0 record in the playoffs. This comes after a playoff run that saw him go 22-10-1 with a .900 save percentage in 36 games in the regular season.
Knoblauch also confirmed that defenseman Mattias Ekholm isn’t expected to return to the lineup for Game 4. Ekholm has missed the entire playoffs with an undisclosed injury, but appears to be nearing a return to the lineup.