Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to return to lineup on Saturday vs. Kraken

For the first time this season, the Edmonton Oilers will have all of their top-four forwards in the lineup, as center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is set to return to the lineup on Saturday against the Seattle Kraken.

Nugent-Hopkins has missed the last nine games with a head injury that he sustained during the Oilers’ 9-1 blowout loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He was expected to miss a week or two with the injury, so his return comes a bit later than expected, but considering the type of injury that he sustained, it was better that Edmonton played it safe. The Oilers went 4-4-1 in his absence.

Nugent-Hopkins is expected to slot into the lineup centering the third line with Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark. This trio hasn’t spent a lot of time together in their careers, as they haven’t been a combination this season, and only played together for two minutes total since Henrique, the most-recently acquired of the three, has joined the Oilers.

Nugent-Hopkins will also return to his spot on the bumper of the Oilers top power-play unit with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman. He will also skate on Edmonton’s second penalty-kill unit with McDavid.

Nugent-Hopkins has produced at his best rate in a few years when he’s been healthy, as he has five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 16 games. It’s put him on pace for 73 points, which would be the second-highest total of his career after his 104-point season in 2022-23.

With Nugent-Hopkins entering the lineup, it looks like David Tomasek will be a healthy scratch for the Oilers. Tomasek has two goals and two assists for four points in 18 games in his debut NHL season.

The Oilers will look to break a slump of four losses in five games when they visit the Kraken on Saturday at 2 p.m. MST. Edmonton currently sits in sixth in the Pacific Division with a 10-10-5 record, and are two points behind the Utah Mammoth for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.