PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Lightning

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers held an optional skate and will deploy an unchanged lineup when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night at Rogers Place.

Forward Zach Hyman has three goals in two games since returning from his five-game injury absence – a return to his goal-scoring ways that saw him exceed 50 goals last season for the first time in his career after he missed out on getting the call to represent Canada at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The winger's been able to bring up his offensive production that coincides with Edmonton's improved play as of late, including back-to-back wins and victories in five of their last six games (including on home ice) for the Blue & Orange.

"Goal scoring is funny," Hyman admitted pre-game on Tuesday. "Sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn't. As of late, obviously, it's gone in, and that helps build confidence, so I'm just having fun out there. When the team wins, we score more goals, so I think they go hand in hand as a group and I think our team confidence is in a good spot right now."

The 32-year-old is excited to carry that confidence into a tough matchup against Tampa Bay, who recently received their own top-line return on Saturday night in the form of Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and two assists in the Lightning's last 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The Russian returned to the right side of the top line next to Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point – the latter of whose 18 goals this season sit second overall in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl and Florida's Sam Reinhart's 19 tallies.

If given the assignment to check Tampa's top line tonight with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman says it will be a worthwhile challenge.

"For sure, yeah. Anytime you play against a team that's got a ton of skill and players that are playing really well, it's always a fun challenge," he said. "So if we're playing against that number on the line, then that'll be a great challenge for our line and for our team."

Throughout the lineup, the Oilers feel their chemistry as lines over recent games has gone a long way in bringing up the level of their game.

Forward Adam Henrique has top-line experience from his time in Anaheim, but the 34-year-old has settled in as the third-line centre next to Mattias Janmark and Jeff Skinner, recording a goal and seven assists in his last ten games while playing an important role on an Oilers penalty kill that's 24-for-26 (92.3 percent) over their the 12 games.

"I think we've established some chemistry offensively and been able to chip in over the last few weeks," Henrique said. "I think for a while now, depending on how things are going, we move around the lines a bit and move guys up and down and that sort of thing. So I think we've been able to establish some lines for a bit and can allow you to get that chemistry and grow that chemistry."

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch provided no further injury updates other than a brief mention of forward Evander Kane, who had surgery in the offseason to repair several injuries and still isn't expected to return for some time. The bench boss said it'll be "at least a month" before any real update can be provided on the Oilers winger, as there remains no timetable for his recovery.

On Monday, Coach Knoblauch mentioned that Viktor Arvidsson has been skating on his own and that he hopes the Swedish forward can rejoin the OIlers for practice sometime this week.

Arvidsson will miss a 12th straight game on Tuesday night.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Tampa Bay below:

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

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson

Skinner
Pickard