The Edmonton Oilers have shifted Jack Roslovic back to the third line in practice. Can the forward find his groove in a new spot, or is more tinkering coming?
At the Sunday practice for the Edmonton Oilers, a statement by head coach Kris Knoblauch appears already to have been misleading. Saying after an ugly loss to the Boston Bruins that it seems obvious Jack Roslovic needs to be in the Oilers' top six, the winger was already moved back to the third line.
Edmonton lost again on Saturday afternoon to the Philadelphia Flyers. And, admittedly, the second line of Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin, and Roslovic was not good. However, that line is productive. It just appears that some players on it are going through a bit of rough patch.
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However, Knoblauch adjusted his lines for Sunday's skate and Roslovic is back in the bottom six.
Does this mean that he's going to be staying there? Of course not. The Oilers don't play again until Tuesday, when they take on the Nashville Predators. There are at least two practices in between the games to tinker with the roster.
But, as Kasperi Kapanen returns to the team and the Oilers try to find a better solution than three rookies on a line, Roslovic appears to be a player Knoblauch is unsure of. Where do they put him to get the best production out of the top nine?
The theory was that he was too valuable not to be in the top six. Now, it appears Knoblauch might be rethinking that theory. Can Roslovic with a sniper like Ike Howard and a veteran center like Adam Henrique do more that what the third line has shown in the last stretch of Oilers' games? The team is certainly hoping so.
Edmonton is dying for some depth production and running out of ways to find it.
Quinn Hutson and Trent Frederic were the extra skaters, suggesting the team is thinking about leaving out of the lineup for the next game. Again, that's not confirmed. Nor is the idea that Andrew Mangiapane will be back in following his two healthy scratches in the previous three games.
As for Roslovic, he said he doesn't mind playing in different situations and will help wherever the team needs him. Still, it would be nice if the Oilers would make up their mind with the forward. Outside of Connor McDavid, Roslovic might be the most consistent Oilers forward of late.
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