Oilers TV reporter Tony Brar tweeted out the lineup during practice this afternoon in Coachella Valley as they prepare for Friday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. There were some pretty amusing changes made by head coach Kris Knoblauch. It doesn’t always mean that will be the roster that’s iced, but it is sometimes fun to discuss when seeing it.
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Kane – Draisaitl – Perry
Holloway – McLeod – Foegele
Janmark – Ryan – Brown
Gagner
Nurse – Desharnais
Ekholm – Ceci
Kulak – Bouchard
Pickard
Skinner
A line of Evander Kane, Leon Draisaitl, and Corey Perry should be an interesting mix of skill, physicality, and annoyance. Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele have had chemistry this season, but will that translate with Dylan Holloway as opposed to with Draisaitl? Of course, the top line stays the same, but my dream has always been to have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the third line. Imagine him with Kane and Perry as the third line.
The defense is where I really popped my eyeballs. Vincent Desharnais, who has been great with Brett Kulak, was paired with Darnell Nurse. Kulak was paired with Evan Bouchard, and Mattias Ekholm was paired with Cody Ceci.
I have to say, for a coaching staff that doesn’t like making radical changes to a winning line-up, this is a pretty wild reaction to just one loss after 16 straight wins prior. The Ceci/Nurse pair is inconsistent and not ideal. Ceci with Ekholm is interesting; maybe Ekholm brings out the better in him. With the latest talk from insiders about Edmonton pursuing RHD options, is this a way to audition Ceci to other teams in a trade? Fans have wondered about Desharnais playing with Nurse before, but as much as we love him, he’s not a top-pair blueliner. Bouchard/Kulak might be fine, but I don’t like the idea of seeing Bouchard on the third pair, even during practice. If it were up to me, I would only have Ceci and Desharnais switch spots. Ceci needs to be more comfortable playing in a lesser role, not the same role as someone else. Some players deserved promotions but got ones too big, and some players should not have been demoted at all; that’s how I look at some of these decisions. Before this afternoon, I felt that all three pairs together were 5/6 good.
Calvin Pickard, as the starter, was no surprise. I wondered, with this upcoming back-to-back, had they been going for 18 in a row, how they’d go about using the goalies. Playing the backup against a weaker team and also risk blowing the game, or playing Stuart Skinner against the weaker team and risk a scheduled loss with the backup against a more crucial opponent in Los Angeles the following night. This is one positive I take out of the loss on Tuesday night. Both goalies can just go about their business and keep treating each game night the same because they no longer have to stress over a record.
Do you like these changes? Do you not like them? Let me know.
