We break down the Edmonton Oilers’ decision to change up their forward lines, including putting Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl back together.
Looking to light a fire under the players following two losses to begin the season, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft shuffled the lines for practice on Monday morning. The lines were as follows:
- Evander Kane – Leon Draisaitl – Connor McDavid
- Warren Foegele – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Zach Hyman
- Dylan Holloway – Ryan McLeod – Connor Brown
- Adam Erne – Mattias Janmark – Derek Ryan
Woodcroft spoke to the media after practice, to provide some insight into the line changes. He said:
"“You look at all areas of your game and the fact of the matter is we’ve scored one even-strength goal in two games. Obviously there’s a lot of chances created, (but) there wasn’t a lot of finish. The shooting percentage at even strength is about two percent, which is not our standard.”"
So was it a good idea or not to make the changes presented, and what is the fallout from all this? Here are five takeaways on the reshuffling of the forward lines, of course pending them actually being used on Tuesday night in Nashville:
1) The superstars are back together
TSN asked the question of if the Oilers are in desperation mode by reuniting McDavid and Draisaitl? Certainly it’s an earlier move than expected, but we wouldn’t go as far as calling it desperate.
Anytime you can put the best player and arguably the second-best player in the game together, it’s not exactly a negative! The duo are magical together and will undoubtedly create fear in the opposition.
McDavid and Draisaitl have already combined for two goals this season although, as per Woodcroft’s point about the even strength play, both goals came on the man advantage. You have to believe they will be able to improve the five-on-five scoring percentages, by playing together.
The Oilers coach was asked about the potential impact of the deadly duo. He said:
"“I think when they play together, it’s a dangerous combination. The results speak for themselves. Not only (do) they create numerous chances when they’re together, they (draw) a lot of penalties as well. You know what you’re getting when those two guys are together.”"
In the end, we don’t believe this particular change will be a long-term situation. It’s more about helping the team get back on track, so that Draisaitl can return to centering his own line, which he has done effectively to begin the season.