PROJECTED LINEUP: Kapanen to debut on second line on Thursday vs. Wild

EDMONTON, AB – After being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday morning, forward Kasperi Kapanen is slated to make his Edmonton Oilers debut on the team's second line against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night at Rogers Place.

"It's been a hectic couple of days, but I'm happy to be here finally and kind of get a game right away," Kapanen said pre-game. "I'm just excited for the opportunity."

The Finnish forward was at right wing on the second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner for his first practice as a member of the Blue & Orange on Thursday morning.

Kapanen had a goal in 10 appearances for the Blues this season and is a former 2014 first-round pick (22nd overall) by the Penguins, having recorded 209 points (85 goals) in 470 career NHL games with Toronto, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

With Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson both out tonight, Kapanen will bring an element of speed to a top-six role and play on Edmonton's penalty kill.

"I think I've got decent size, and I think my skating is probably the best attribute I have," he said. "So just try to use those as much as possible and bring energy. Just play 100 percent every game. Like I said earlier, just kind of use my speed and my size and just try to be some sort of factor out there and help this team win.

"This team is obviously a great hockey team, so I'm just trying to help in any way I can."

Kapanen's claim by the Oilers allows them to revert to having 12 forwards and six defencemen tonight with the recall of Drake Caggiula from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors to help fill in for the absences of Hyman and Arvidsson.

On Thursday, defenceman Josh Brown was recalled by the Oilers less than 24 hours after being loaned back to Bakersfield on Wednesday. The 30-year-old made back-to-back appearances on Edmonton's blueline against Montreal and Ottawa on their previous road trip, averaging 11:29 of ice time.

Hyman is expected to miss four to seven days from the hit he received late in the second period of Tuesday's win over Ottawa, while Arvidsson won't play tonight versus the Wild and isn't expected to play against the New York Rangers on Saturday after missing Edmonton's last three games due to injury.

Arvidsson had been trending towards a return during Edmonton's previous three-game road trip when he participated in the morning skate in Toronto on Saturday, but three straight no-shows at practice on Monday, Tuesday and now Thursday, along with being placed on Injured Reserve this afternoon, have tempered the Swede's chances of getting back.

"We're not expecting him back on Saturday and it's taking a little bit longer than we thought," Coach Knoblauch said. "It's one of those things. If it were playoffs, he'd be playing, but where we are in the season, it's better to recover and for him to be able to come back 100 percent. So we are still day to day.

Darnell Nurse was also on the ice for the first time on Thursday since suffering his upper-body injury from an illegal check from forward Ryan Reaves, but the defenceman was operating as the seventh defenceman during the morning skate and won't be ready to go in time to face the high-flying Wild.

Coach Knoblauch said there's a potential for Nurse to get back into the lineup this coming Saturday, which would be seven days into his given five-to-10-day recovery timeline.

If the Oilers push back Nurse's return until after Saturday's visit from the Rangers, they'll have five more days to confirm his availability before they make their inaugural visit to the Delta Center to face Utah Hockey Club.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner was in the starter's net and the first goalie off the ice on Thursday as he lines up to make his second start in a row, coming off a 27-save performance on Tuesday against the Senators.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Minnesota below:

Podkolzin - McDavid - Draisaitl
Skinner - Nugent-Hopkins - Kapanen
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Caggiula - Ryan - Perry

Ekholm - Bouchard
Kulak - Stecher
Dermott - Emberson

Skinner
Pickard