It appears Zack Kassian will move up in the Edmonton Oilers lineup Saturday night when they host the Colorado Avalanche in game three of the Western Conference Final (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 4 p.m., game at 6 p.m.).
“Nothing’s a guarantee, but if you get a chance to ride shotgun next to the best player in the world, you have to take advantage of it,” said Kassian, who took the morning skate on a line with Connor McDavid and Evander Kane.
“He brings a physical element, brings lots of energy and emotion. He has some good offensive tools as well,” said McDavid of Kassian.
Kailer Yamamoto didn’t take the morning skate. He left game two on Thursday with an upper body injury.
“We’ll see. I think Zack has had a good playoffs. He plays physical. We’ll see what the lineups present tonight,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft.
The Avs lead the series 2-0. They’ve won all five of their road games this post-season.
“We feel that while the other team is doing some good stuff, we just haven’t got to our game yet. There are some things that we can do better individually and collectively,” said Woodcroft.
“I don’t think we’ve played our best yet,” added McDavid. “I would expect to see it tonight.”
It’s the Oilers first home game since beating Calgary 5-3 on May 24.
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