This in from Tony Brar of the Oilers TV, Edmonton’s new line and defence pairings, as the team prepares for Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh, with Vasily Podkolzin bumped down from the top line.
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Howard – Roslovic – Savoie
Janmark – Lazar – Mangiapane
Podkolzin – Frederic – Regula*
*Taking reps at forward today
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Emberson
Walman – Stastney
Jarry, Ingram & Pickard on the ice
My take
1. The Oilers are bending themselves into a strange shape just now dealing with a number of simultaneous line-up issues, namely Leon Draisaitl’s absence in Germany, Kasperi Kapanen’s short-term injury, and the fear of losing either Alec Regula or Calvin Pickard to another team if they’re played on waivers.
This player personnel conundrum led Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch to go with 11 forwards and seven d-men against New Jersey, a deployment that upset the team’s line balance, especially when Podkolzin got 17 minutes in penalties for standing up for Connor McDavid after a New Jersey d-man took a high shot at McDavid.
You could argue that the convergence of line-up issues played a part in Edmonton’s 2-1 loss to New Jersey. Only one line had real chemistry, when Knoblauch re-united McDavid, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the third period. But we saw very little of Podkolzin with McDavid and Hyman in this particular game due to Podz’s 17 minute penalty.
2. In this latest jumble of forward lines, Podkolzin has been bumped down to play with Trent Frederic at centre and Regula on the wing, at least for line rushes.
It’s not ideal, especially after Podkolzin bravely took on a fight for McDavid, a move that sent Oilers fans and commentators into a fit of exultation and jubilation. Edmonton fans love few things more than a teammate standing up for Connor McDavid. As Oilers Now host put it last night, “LOVED the response from Vasily Podkolzin on the hit on McDavid…and I am guessing so did you!”
3. This isn’t the first time that Knoblauch has upset the apple cart of the Oilers line-up by demoting a player after he’s done well. The coach healthy scratched both Noah Philp and Curtis Lazar after both of them had had big games, which brought on widespread criticism of the coach’s handling of both players.
This circumstance is a bit different, but it’s still not apparent why Podkolzin would seemingly be on the fourth line here. Perhaps the lines will change before game time, something that has also been known to happen as Knoblauch fine tunes his line-up.
4. To be fair, Knoblauch may well see Podkolzin and Frederic as the core of his second line here, with a plan to play them with McDavid, Jack Roslovic, Zach Hyman or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in a regular shift.
But however you slice it, it’s a bit of a jumble. It’s not ideal. The Oilers could solve it by waiving either Regula or Pickard and then recalling a forward from the AHL in the empty roster spot, but Edmonton evidently doesn’t want to risk such a move.
51 games
At the Cult of Hockey