Jason Dickinson Remains a Game-Time Decision for Anaheim Ducks Game 6
Jason Dickinson remained a game-time decision for the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, and the anaheim ducks had them facing elimination at Honda Center. The Oilers needed one more road win to force a deciding Game 7 in Oil Country on Saturday.
Kris Knoblauch’s Morning Skate
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said Dickinson was the only late decision the Oilers had to make. Neither Dickinson nor Connor McDavid took part in Thursday’s morning skate, and Trent Frederic filled the captain’s spot on the top line during the session.
McDavid was expected to be good to go after two assists in Tuesday’s 4-1 victory in Game 5. The projected lineup also had him back with Leon Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen, while Vasily Podkolzin, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman stayed together after each picked up points in the elimination win.
Zach Hyman and Darnell Nurse
Hyman kept the message simple: “Just reset.” He said, “It’s the playoffs, and usually momentum doesn't carry over. It's just a new game, and we have to find a way to win one on the road. You don't win a series unless you win a game on the road, so we have to win tonight.”
Nurse backed that up with a tighter read on the matchup. “Our group's really confident in that we're able to come out and play a strong game,” he said. “The other teams have a say in it, too. They're going to come out and play strong and throw everything at us, so today's going to be a hard night for us, but we just have to worry about winning one game.”
Oilers Lineup Shape
The rest of the projected forward group had Matvei Savoie, Dickinson and Jack Roslovic on one line, with Derek Dach, Samanski and Lazar on another. On defense, the expected pairs were Mattias Ekholm with Evan Bouchard, Jake Walman with Murphy, and Nurse with Emberson. The lineup was not yet final and would be settled during warmups.
That left Dickinson as the swing piece in a series the Oilers had to extend. They had already beaten Anaheim 4-1 in Game 5, and the pressure on Thursday was whether the same group could land the road result that sends the series back for Game 7.
