What’s behind the Oilers’ recent turnaround?

4) More scoring from the bottom six

Scoring from the bottom six was close to non-existent earlier in the season for the Oilers, but now the lines have started to get rolling. Mcleod has two new wingers on his side on the third line now in Kane and Brown, but for most of the season has usually been the same two in McLovin (Warren Foegele) and Mattias Janmark.

As a result of this, Knoblauch has been more inclined to roll his lines and give the bottom six more ice time than he or Woodcroft did earlier in the season.

The fourth line has really gotten going the last couple of games. Especially and ever since James Hamblin has come up from Bakersfield and really injected some life into the fourth line. He hasn’t produced any offence in seven games, but is pushing and doing all the right things – especially defensively.

He’s found himself with regular linemates in the form of Sam Gagner and Derek Ryan, a trio that has proven to be a fantastically solid fourth line. Between Hamblin’s defensive play, Ryan’s cerebral play, and Gagner’s experience, this is a line that has been absolutely fantastic the last couple of games, especially the wingers in Ryan and Gagner who have both generated offence in the last three games.

As for Hamblin? Don’t be surprised if he’s been told he should get an apartment in Edmonton, as he’s staying up.

It might make for an awkward situation when Dylan Holloway comes back from injury. Although the logical thing to do would be to sit Brown temporarily and play Holloway instead – assuming he doesn’t need a conditioning stint in Bakersfield first.

The only blemish at this point? The two worst +/- ratings on the team belong to Mclovin and Brown – -9 and -10 respectively.

What About Kris Knoblauch?

Do I consider Knoblauch a key point of the turnaround? Not really. After all, he hasn’t really coached all that much different from Woodcroft. The only real difference I can see is that Knoblauch is much less likely to go with an 11-7 skater configuration (11 forwards, seven defencemen) than Woodcroft was, and prefers the more traditional 12-6 (12 forwards, six defencemen) skater configuration. Woodcroft tended to go to that configuration on occasion, especially when the team was in such a cap crunch they couldn’t even ice a full lineup.

I think it was more the kick in the butt the team got when Woodcroft was fired that may have contributed to the turnaround, rather than Knoblauch himself. Not to say he isn’t a capable coach, but I don’t see him as a huge upgrade on Woodcroft, actually, more of a lateral move, to be honest.

Knoblauch still prefers the same zone defence Woodcroft was trying to instil in the team, so nothing has changed in that regard. Knoblauch still basically gives the same message to the players Woodcroft did. He still plays guys on merit and plays them down the lineup or out of it altogether when they are struggling. He’s kept the special teams units the same.

In short, it’s basically the same type of coach under a different name.