Kris Knoblauch had new forward line combinations in his first practice with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Edmonton Oilers are 3-9-1 heading into tonight's game against the New York Islanders. They will look to get their second win in a row - and their first win with new head coach Kris Knoblauch.
It's unfortunate that Knoblauch is coming into the season under these conditions, but he's taken over the reigns mid-season with other organizations.
This morning he was first out for morning skate before the players. He took some time to have a chat with a couple players - most notably Leon Draisaitl.
Here were the lines he rolled out:
Three takeaways for me here: 1) Connor McDavid and Draisaitl split up. 2) Defense pairings staying the same. 3) McDavid and Draisaitl have wingers who all play similar game.
McDavid on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Sam Gagner makes sense. They are all great on the rush, work hard and are good defensively.
Draisaitl brings a puck production game and is excellent off the cycle - similar to Zach Hyman. Evander Kane can also play well off the cycle and adds a lot of physicality to the line.
Tonight's game starts at 6:30PM Mountain Time at Rogers Place.
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