Oilers captain Connor McDavid says that Murphy’s playstyle and skillset will be a welcome addition to the team, saying you can never have too many of those players on your roster to for the most important time of the season.
“Not fun to play against, which is always a good sign,” McDavid said. “Just a solid player. I think he can really help for sure. I don’t think you can have too many of those guys. Those guys are extremely valuable. So I’m excited about it.”
Darnell Nurse followed up by confirming Coach Knoblauch’s comments that another penalty-killing, shutdown option will help lessen the load on the rest of the defence.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I think anytime your group can get better, he definitely adds a really good component to our group. Steady back there, hard to play against, so he’ll be great for us.”
“Those are the things that help you win down the stretch, so he brings a lot of those elements to our team. I think our group’s really excited to have him.”
Knoblauch confirmed that goaltender Connor Ingram will start a third straight game.
The Oilers held an optional skate on Tuesday, so lines & defence pairings are based off Monday’s practice and will be confirmed during warmups.