Trailing 1-0, Oilers scratch veterans Ceci, Perry

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Edmonton Oilers are making lineup changes for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final as they trail the Florida Panthers 1-0 in the series.

Defenseman Vincent Desharnais returns to the lineup Monday night in place of Cody Ceci and is expected to slot in next to Darnell Nurse on the Edmonton blue line. Nurse and Ceci were on the ice for two Panthers goals during Florida’s 3-0 Game 1 win over the Oilers.

Desharnais last played May 27 in Game 3 against the Dallas Stars. He and Nurse played over 180 minutes together during the regular season. They’re two of the tallest players on Edmonton, with Desharnais at 6-7 and Nurse at 6-4.

“Twin towers,” Desharnais said with a laugh. “Two pretty long sticks. When we work together, we communicate well and we make a very good pair. We’re hard to play against and we try to be as physical as possible.”

Ceci had played in all 19 of the Oilers’ postseason games before this healthy scratch.

“It’s not easy for me,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We feel that this is something that’s going to help our team. And maybe that’s not fair to Cody, coming out of the lineup. But we feel that lineup changes that [give us] that slight advantage is going to help us move forward.”

Knoblauch also gave the call to forward Sam Carrick, who last played in the Oilers’ Game 5 against Dallas in the conference finals, to draw in for Game 2 against Florida. As a result, veteran forward Corey Perry left the lineup as a healthy scratch.

Another change for the Oilers in Game 2 might involve Leon Draisaitl‘s line, the team’s second-best scoring unit behind Connor McDavid‘s top line.

Draisaitl spent the majority of Game 1 with wingers Dylan Holloway and Evander Kane, who has been limited to one assist in his past eight games due to a sports hernia. Adam Henrique, a veteran forward the Oilers acquired from Anaheim at the trade deadline, could see increased minutes in place of Kane on that line. Henrique has two goals and two assists in 11 playoff games.

“Henrique will definitely be having some shifts with Leon. Whether that’s regular, we’ll see how the game goes,” Knoblauch said.

The Oilers coach, in his first year as an NHL bench boss after being hired from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack last November, hasn’t shied away from shaking up his lineup in the postseason — usually to positive effect.

“There’s going to be lineup changes,” McDavid said. “Kris has made some different decisions along the way. Everyone’s done a great job stepping in and contributing. We’ve got great depth. Everyone’s pulling the rope here.”