EDMONTON, AB – Defenceman Mattias Ekholm is expected to remain out of the Oilers lineup against the Avalanche on Saturday night when the two Western Conference powerhouses meet for the first of three matchups over the final month of the regular season at Rogers Place.
The blueliner was a late scratch before Wednesday night's 7-2 victory over Washington due to illness and is anticipated to miss his second straight game after Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said he would deploy the same lineup tonight from their seven-goal victory over Washington, lending defenceman Troy Stecher the opportunity to make his second appearance with the Blue & Orange.
If the Swede is able to slot back in tonight, he'd rejoin Evan Bouchard on the top defensive pairing and command heavy minutes against elite opposition in the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. Ekholm has averaged 20:56 of ice time this season over 62 games, recording five goals and 23 assists.
Friday's morning skate was optional, but Stuart Skinner was on the ice and in the starter's crease during the pre-game twirl in anticipation of making his 47th start of the season following his 23-save performance on Wednesday night that marked his 30th victory of the campaign – becoming the first Oilers goalie since Cam Talbot in 2017-18 to reach the mark.
Connor McDavid is currently riding a 26-game home point streak and has registered 10 straight multi-point games at Rogerds Place, while his linemate Zach Hyman – fresh off registering his fourth hat trick of the season against the Capitals – needs one more goal to break the franchise record for the longest home goal streak of 10 games that's currently co-owned by himself and Wayne Gretzky (1981-82).
With Friday's skate being optional, the lineup will be confirmed during warmups.
