Viktor Arvidsson wasn’t a happy camper.
The Oilers winger played an effective nine games to open the Stanley Cup playoffs before Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch opted for a different look midway through the team’s second-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Arvidsson took a seat in the press box despite a strong connection on an energy line alongside Mattias Janmark and Vasily Podkolzin.
Knoblauch sounded almost apologetic a couple of times since first making the veteran forward a healthy scratch May 12. After biding his time, Arvidsson is about to get another shot.
The 32-year-old Swede will draw into the lineup for the injured Connor Brown against the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the NHL’s Western Conference final on Tuesday.
“That’s the toughest part of our job,” Arvidsson said of getting a tap on the shoulder from the coach following Edmonton’s morning skate. “Especially when you’re doing everything right and trying to bring something to the team with the role you have … for sure, hard.”
Brown was hurt on a big hit from Stars defenceman Alexander Petrovic in the second period of Sunday’s matinee that Edmonton won 6-1 to take a 2-1 series lead.
The five-foot-10, 185-pound Arvidsson, who last played in Game 3 against Vegas, had one goal and three assists before getting replaced by Kasperi Kapanen.
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“They wanted to make a change, and that’s what they did,” Arvidsson said. “I just have to play the same style of play as I did and I’ve always done.
“Bring energy and bring a lot of pucks to the net and bodies to the net and forecheck and play good defensively.”
Signed to a two-year, US$8-million contract in free agency in last July, he registered 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) across 67 regular-season games for the Oilers in 2024-25.
Knoblauch, who indicated his forward lines wouldn’t be the same as when Arvidsson last suited up, said he expected the two-time 30-goal man to pick up right where he left off.
“This time of the year, it’s physicality,” said the coach. “He’s not afraid of getting involved in the play. He is smaller, but he definitely is feisty. He’s a smart hockey player. He’s got good puck skills, but something he adds to our team is speed
“We could have used a little more of that (in Game 3).”
The top-pair defenceman Mattias Ekholm, who hasn’t played in the playoffs because of a lower-body injury, said Monday he’s getting close to a return, but Knoblauch confirmed the 35-year-old would again watch.
Edmonton did get some good news on the injury front, with Calvin Pickard healthy enough to back up Stuart Skinner. The 33-year-old replaced his struggling crease companion with the Oilers down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings in the first round before ripping off six straight wins.
Pickard then suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2 against Vegas to give Skinner another chance. He went onto pick up three shutouts in four games before Sunday’s 6-1 triumph.
Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl said having the likes of Arvidsson and fellow winger Jeff Skinner available to enter the fray is a luxury he hasn’t experienced in Edmonton until this season.
“Our depth is as good as any in the league,” he said. “That’s what good teams have. We’ve got a lot of guys that can just play in any situation. That gives (Knoblauch) a lot of options. (Arvidsson) is coming in, you can play him on the third line, you can play him on the first line.
“It doesn’t matter, he knows how to play in every situation.”
WAITING GAME
Stars No. 1 centre Roope Hintz will once again be a game-time decision after receiving a slash to the left leg from Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse on Friday. The Finn took warm-ups Sunday, but didn’t dress for Dallas.
Hintz, who was replaced by Oskar Back on the Star’ top line between Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen in Game 3, has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 15 playoff games this spring.
Nurse spoke to reporters Tuesday for the first time since the exchange with Hintz.
“I was just backing up to the net and I got a shot in the back … it was a just natural reaction,” he said of his whack on Hintz. “A play that everyone in this room, whether you’re a net-front guy or a (defenceman), probably happens two dozen times in a year. Unfortunate … must have got him in a bad spot.
“You don’t want to go out there and hurt anyone. But it was just one of those plays that happened so often.”
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