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EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers are expected to have defenceman Darnell Nurse back in the lineup when they face off against the New York Rangers at Rogers Place on Saturday night.

“He’ll be fresh and he plays big minutes and contributes. He’s a big part of the team,” Brett Kulak said pre-game. “It’s not just like calling someone up and slotting them in for some minutes. He’s a big part of the team, so everything kind of happens around him, so it’ll be good to have him back.

Despite the potential return of a big piece of their blueline, the Oilers will also wait to find out if defenceman Evan Bouchard will be able to go tonight after Head Coach Kris Knoblauch revealed that the 25-year-old is “50-50” to suit up.

“We’ll see how he’s doing before the game,” Knoblauch said of Bouchard’s status. “We’re optimistic that he can play.”

“We’re anticipating [Darnell’s] ready to play tonight.”

The Oilers have defencemen Josh Brown and Travis Dermott who can jump into the lineup if either one of Nurse or Bouchard is unable to go, but the potential re-addition of Nurse tonight would be a big boost for Edmonton after he was forced to miss three games (five days) with an upper-body injury.

“First of all, he plays 22-to-25 minutes every night,” Knoblauch said. “He’s good at transporting puck and getting it out to the zone. The biggest thing is just how much area he covers defensively. Playing against him, there’s not much room because of his quick quickness and his reach. If you do get into a battle with him, he’s incredibly strong and can push you off the puck. It’s difficult to play against him.”

“It’s a major adjustment,” Kulak added of when Nurse isn’t playing. “He plays all situations and a lot of minutes. Everyone has to chip in and play more, and it’s just a different dynamic without him in the lineup. He’s a valuable player and he does a lot of good things.”

Up front, the Oilers split up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to centre the first and second lines during Saturday’s morning skate at Rogers Place after the two superstars played next to Vasily Podkolzin on the top line for their last two games – a 5-3 defeat to the Wild on Thursday and a 5-2 victory over the Senators on Tuesday.

Coach Knoblauch confirmed that Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson remain unavailable due to injury.

Podkolzin will return to the second line with Draisaitl and Connor Brown, while recent Oilers debutant Kasperi Kapanen will get a look on the top line next to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid.

The Finnish forward drew two penalties and recorded four hits and a shot in 12:10 of ice time during his Blue & Orange debut versus Minnesota on Thursday after being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues two days earlier.

Coach Knoblauch views Kapanen’s toolkit as a speedy 6-foot-1 forward who can throw the body around as part of the solution to getting more out of his team when it comes to playing physical.

“I think the addition of Kapanen is going to help us,” Knoblauch said. “I know the other night he had four hits, 12 minutes of ice time and drew two penalties. That’s a pretty good game, and the biggest thing about being a physical team is getting there in time to make that hit. There’s a guy who is a fast skater, big and strong – but most importantly, if you’re going to be physical, you’ve got to be quick. You’ve got to get there in time, and I think he adds that element for our team.”

Goaltender Stuart Skinner will get the start tonight for the Oilers against Jonathan Quick in the Rangers’ crease.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. NYR below:

RNH – McDavid – Kapanen
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Brown
Skinner – Henrique – Janmark
Caggiula – Ryan – Perry

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Kulak
Emberson – Stecher

Pickard
Skinner