When the Oilers announced the lineup for tonight's game in Dallas, they confirmed that Magnus Paajarvi was a healthy scratch.

#Oilers forward lines at morning skate the same as practice yesterday: 4-93-14, 28-89-83, 94-20-64 and 55-54-37

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 28, 2013

The move is a curious one, especially coming off of his performance in Chicago, according to Michael Parkatti:

But who put up the best Corsi rate? Can you believe it — it was the Gagner line, with MPS, Hemsky, and Gagner ending the night 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Corsi per minute. Paajarvi was, in fact, the only player on the entire team to end the night in positives vs the Hawks. His play has been very solid for quite some time now, and he should be allowed to stay in the NHL to hone his craft. He looked perfectly fine on the 2nd line — in fact, he might be the best fit I’ve seen so far. He’s able to think quickly and complete short, direct passes to Hemsky while not getting in his way and providing some support to keep the zone. His positioning is excellent, and gives that line a bit more breathing room to finish their work offensively by how aware he is getting back.

Bob Stauffer noted that Krueger spoke with Paajarvi at practice this morning:

Ralph Krueger having an extended conversation with Magnus Paajarvi as morning skate starts

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) February 28, 2013