PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Panthers

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers will name an unchanged lineup on Monday night when they host the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place in their first meeting since Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

"Obviously, it wasn't that long ago," Connor McDavid said. "That being said, it's a new year. There's been a lot of turnover on both teams. It'll be a big one tonight. We played them seven times in a row, so you're going to form a rivalry for sure."

Defenceman Evan Bouchard didn't participate in Monday's pre-game skate due to maintenance reasons, but Head Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed he'd be in the lineup when the Oilers renew their rivalry with the Panthers for the first time since June 24, 2024 – a span of 175 days.

Forward Viktor Arvidsson was in attendance at the pre-game skate, notably taking reps in Bouchard's position as a top-pairing defenceman, but the Swede was simply a fill-in as he continues to work his way back from a month-long absence that will result in him missing a 15th straight game on Monday.

"Well, Arvidsson did look pretty good and looked like maybe he might take Bouch's spot," Coach Knoblauch joked. "But we'll wait a little bit longer before he's able to do that."

The Oilers fell just short to the Panthers in last season's Final after fighting their way back from a 3-0 series deficit, forcing Game 7 that Florida won 2-1 on home ice at Amerant Bank Arena to claim their franchise's first Stanley Cup.

"I think it'll always be there," said Zach Hyman, who's scored five goals in his last six games. "You have moments, highs and lows, that kind of make up your entire career. That'll be one that stays, so it'll always be there. But it's a brand new year, we're in a great spot and you always have to look forward. It's going to be a good test against a really good team."

It's a new season and a new group for the Blue & Orange, who've won their last five games in a row against some quality teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner made a season-high 38 saves on Saturday afternoon in a 6-3 win over Vegas and is 5-1-0 over his last six starts, assembling a 1.68 goals-against average and .942 save percentage over that span. The netminder's red-hot form in recent games has coincided with Edmonton's 8-1-0 record since Nov. 23, which has helped bring the Oilers to within three points of first place in the Pacific Division.

"He's been playing at an elite level this last month or so," Knoblauch said. "It wasn't the start that he wanted, it wasn't the start that anybody wanted with our team, but he's taken his game to another level.

"I see a lot of maturity in Stu with being able not to get too down on himself. He's able to focus and work with [Goaltending Coach] Dustin Schwartz, focusing on what teaching points are important, where he needs to get better and how to respond, and I think Stu has shown a lot of maturity for still a young goalie and we've obviously relied on him quite a bit because of that."

The Oilers have scored 25 goals over their last six games, which includes a 1-0 loss to the Golden Knights, while their power play has gone 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) across their last eight contests.

"It helps when you get great goaltending and you're starting to score on your shots, so I think that helps things a lot," Hyman said. "I think five on five, we played pretty well throughout the whole year. I think we're continuing it into this little run. And then special teams, when they're not going well, it's hard to win many games in succession, so I think both are starting to come now."

The Oilers will look to continue their recent success against a Panthers side that ended their heroic push for a sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history, but Florida isn't in the greatest form after being shut out in consecutive games against Vancouver and Calgary during their four-game Pacific Division road trip that wraps up tonight in Edmonton.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov will be a game-time decision for the Panthers with an illness after missing their 3-0 loss in Calgary on the weekend.

"We got a lot of self-belief in here," McDavid added. "We believe that we're a good team, but you gotta go out and show it, and you gotta play well. We felt like we were doing a lot of good things maybe not getting rewarded early on, and it's nice to see the wins finally start to come in."

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Florida below:

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

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Brown

Skinner
Pickard