With 13 forwards and even defencemen at his disposal now, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch plans to use every player down the stretch to maintain their preparation and their place within the Oilers dressing room.
“We talk to them, give them a heads up on what might be happening and where they fit in,” he said. “We’ve got probably four or five that kind of can come in and out of the lineup. But I just think it’s important that everyone feels part of this team and that nobody’s sitting for two weeks or two months maybe, and then we have an injury and we need them, or somebody’s not playing well.
“If somebody’s playing exceptionally well, we’re not going to take them out. But I think we’ve got 13 forwards that are playing well and we have to make tough decisions each time.”
On the blueline, Vincent Desharnais was once again a full participant at practice on Wednesday despite missing Tuesday’s win over Montreal with a minor hand injury. The 27-year-old defenceman’s next NHL game will be the 100th of his career, but the decision on whether or not he’ll return to the lineup on Thursday and make that milestone appearance has yet to be made.
When you have the time, it’s best to take it so you can be healthy for when the playoffs arrive.
“He hasn’t taken any time off,” Knoblauch said. “He’s been out there fully practicing all the time. The first day or two maybe a little bit of limited activity, but we’ll make a decision tomorrow if he’s playing.
“But if we needed him and it was a playoffs, he’d be ready to go. We’re just deciding what’s best for our team and certainly, we don’t want it to be an injury that aggravates, gets the rehab time and gets stretched out.”