PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Hurricanes

EDMONTON, AB – Defenceman Darnell Nurse will take reps on the right side of the second pairing next to Travis Dermott on Tuesday night when the Oilers host the Hurricanes in the first game of a two-game homestand at Rogers Place.

"When Travis and I have played together, I thought we were actually pretty good and pretty fluid out there," Nurse said. "We're both lefties, so whoever ends up over there ends up over there. Over the course of practice the last couple of days, I took a few more reps over there. Your angles are a little bit different.

"What you're seeing is a little bit different, so you have to make some adjustments – whether it's skating more in certain situations and knowing where the puck will go before you get it. But at the end of the day, it's just hockey on a different side."

With Dermott returning to the lineup, Ty Emberson will be the odd man out as the seventh defenceman, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed, as he attempts to provide a different dimension to Edmonton's second pair tonight by having Nurse start on the right side of the blueline.

"He'll get more shifts on the right side tonight and I think that'll benefit him," Knoblauch said. "I think there are pros and cons to playing your offside. In the offensive zone, getting the puck off the wall is a little more difficult, but for a lot of other things, it's beneficial.

"Carrying the puck into the zone and being on your offside lets you protect it. You can get it up the ice a little bit easier. If you do get at the puck in the offensive zone with control, carrying the puck to the middle is much easier. When you're on your offside defending off the rush, being able to check is easier, so there are benefits.

"There are other things that are a little more difficult, but tonight, we'll see him having some shifts on the right side and left."

Dermott has proven ability to play both the right and left sides and will make his return to the lineup tonight after serving as a healthy scratch since dressing in Edmonton's defeat to the Calgary Flames in the Battle of Alberta back on Oct. 13.

Emberson, meanwhile, will sit out after playing the last three games next to Brett Kulak, recording five total shots with a +1 plus/minus.

"I thought he was fine," Knoblauch said of Emberson. "It wasn't outstanding. It wasn't exceptional, but it wasn't terrible. We've got seven D-men rotating and three of them have been pretty much rotating, so I know there's more from Ty. It's just that tonight, he's going to be our odd guy out."

After alluding to changes up front following Monday's skate, Knoblauch will split Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl back onto separate lines after running the Dynamic Duo together for the last three games, while swapping Derek Ryan and Adam Henrique at centre on the third and fourth lines.

The bench boss sees the changes in the bottom six as a product of the fourth line putting in a few solid performances over their last few games – most notably Vasily Podkolzin, who's been impactful for the Oilers despite not finding the scoresheet.

"A little bit of a reward for Podkolzin and Perry," Knoblauch said. "I think they played really well to start the season. They've been pretty much stapled on that fourth line. I think this is just an opportunity for them to move up in the lineup and get a little more responsibility.

"I've seen a lot of [Podkolzin] through exhibition and the regular season. I know he hasn't got on the scoresheet yet, but I think there's been a lot of chances. And especially, I think about the Dallas game. I think there were three different opportunities where he had chances to drive the net and he did. He's a big guy, skates well, protects the puck well and he's got a pretty good shot. I think we'll be receiving some offence from him in the future, so I just encourage him to keep playing the way he has been."

Stuart Skinner is your confirmed starter for the second straight game after he last made 21 saves on 24 shots in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars.

"Obviously, we're not exactly where we want to be result-wise, so getting some higher-tempo practices and trying to execute as best as we can, I think that's kind of the little small area that we just got to improve on," Skinner said. "If we do that, I think we'll be happy with where we end up."

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Carolina below:

Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Hyman
Skinner - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Ryan - Brown
Podkolzin - Henrique - Perry

Ekholm - Bouchard
Dermott - Nurse
Kulak - Stecher

Skinner
Pickard