The Edmonton Oilers have finally done what makes the most sense to be put in a better position to win more hockey games. As confirmed by David Staples of the Edmonton Journal, the Oilers have officially decided to move right winger Jesse Puljujarvi to the top line and demoting right winger Zack Kassian.
At the end of the day, Kassian was underperforming with the minutes on ice he was getting and the Oilers still need help badly when it comes to Power Play situations. The truth of the matter is, the Oilers need to score more when these opportunities come up and Puljujarvi would undoubtedly help the cause.
In the grand scheme of things, the Oilers have started the new season struggling. It’s crazy to believe that the best team in all of the NHL last season when it came to Power Play scoring, seems to have forgotten what to do when they have this advantage. Head coach Dave Tippett continues to preach about taking the new season “one game at a time” as this recent lineup change makes a lot of sense.
The Edmonton Oilers made the right call promoting Jesse Puljujarvi
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Promoting Puljujarvi is exactly what the Oilers needed to do considering their recent loss on Friday to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers are now heading into two more hockey games on the road against the Winnipeg Jets as it’s imperative they right the ship.
Perhaps having Puljujarvi in the top line provides a much-needed spark to score first and get things off on the right foot instead of having to play catch up as we’ve seen so far this season.
At 2-4 so far this season, the Oilers need to continue adapting to Tippett’s mantra and focusing on these moments now.
Hopefully, Puljujarvi steps right in and takes care of business as the Oilers need to have a strong performance over these next few games. It’s great to see Tippett make these kinds of changes now instead of mulling them over when it’s all about doing whatever it takes to win this first game tonight against the Jets.
The hockey world awaits to see what the Oilers can accomplish with Puljujarvi now in the top line and hopefully, he makes an impact immediately upon arrival. Perhaps getting this golden opportunity on the top line will revitalize Puljujarvi to bounce back considering this is now his time to shine and prove this decision by Tippett was a great one.