Oilers’ Adam Henrique out for Game 1 vs. Canucks

Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported that Knoblauch is dealing with an ankle injury.

Because of Henrique’s absence, Connor Brown will draw into the lineup for the first time this postseason. He will be making his first playoff appearance since 2018-19, when he recorded an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their seven-game series vs. the Boston Bruins.

Through the Oilers’ five games in their first-round series victory over the Los Angeles Kings, Henrique scored a goal and an assist. In 33 career playoff games, the 34-year-old forward has six goals and nine assists for 15 points.

This past season, Henrique scored 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points in 60 games with the Anaheim Ducks before being traded to the Oilers on March 6, along with Sam Carrick, in exchange for the Oilers’ 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2025 fifth-round pick.

Henrique would score six goals and three assists for nine points in 22 games with the Oilers.

Amid the team’s first-round series against L.A., Connor McDavid scored a goal and 11 assists for 12 points, and Leon Draisaitl had five goals and five assists for 10 points in the series. Defenseman Evan Bouchard had a goal and eight assists for nine points, and Zach Hyman, coming off his first career 50-goal season, scored seven goals in the first round.

The Oilers went 49-27-6 with 104 points in the regular season, second in the Pacific Division. The team finished five points behind the Canucks in the division. Vancouver went 4-0-0 against Edmonton through the 2023-24 regular season.

Daily Faceoff’s Mike Gould wrote in his playoff series preview that he picked the Canucks to win in seven.