PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Sabres

EDMONTON, AB – Defenceman Vincent Desharnais will remain out of the lineup on Thursday night against the Buffalo Sabres as he continues to make progress in his recovery from a minor hand injury.

Troy Stecher will fill his place on the second defensive pairing alongside Darnell Nurse for the second straight game, but Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will rotate a pair of forwards up front by returning Connor Brown to the lineup in place of Derek Ryan.

Knoblauch says they anticipate Desharnais to be ready to go by Saturday when the Oilers begin a three-game road trip on Hockey Night in Canada against the Maple Leafs.

The Oilers play their final 16 regular-season games over the next 27 games, and the bench boss is prepared to tinker with his lines down the stretch to find the right forward combinations while managing rest before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I think we'll be fitting the pieces together for probably a couple more weeks,” he said. “We still have 16 more games. Probably when we hit April, it'll be looking more like playoff roster and less juggling the lines hopefully.”

“I think there's still a little more time and we want to see what's the best for our team, and that'll always change whether that's opposition, if we're on the road, is it who's playing well together, so there are a lot of factors.

“But right now, I think there's still some time for us to play with that.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins says the players in the dressing room aren't worried about where they slot into the lineup as they try to find the right recipe for the postseason with 16 regular-season games remaining.

"Guys aren't worried too much about where they are in the lineup. Everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to be a part of a winning team," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I think mentally, we start talking a little bit about it more. We know what's coming. We still have 16 games left here, so our focus is on those 16 games.

"But when you get to this point in the season, of course in the back of your mind, the playoffs are there and you want to start ramping up your game individually and as a team. We got a good chunk of games here pretty tightly packed too, so it's just going to be a lot of playing, practice and playing."

Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Buffalo: 

Kane - McDavid - Hyman
McLeod - Draisaitl - Foegele
Nugent-Hopkins - Henrique - Perry
Janmark - Carrick - Brown

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Ceci

Skinner
Pickard