Every game this season has seen a new Edmonton Oiler play less minutes than the game before.
The Edmonton Oilers added a few new players this off-season. The management group believes in the lineup they have constructed - even if they may seek an upgrade at the trade deadline.
Because of this belief, the Oilers didn't make a huge splash at the opening of free agency this past summer. Instead they opted to add depth to the lineup, and create more battles for roster spots as a result.
Connor Brown was the biggest summer acquisition for the Oilers. He signed a one-year deal at league minimum with a lot of performance bonuses that will carry over to next year's salary cap.
Connor Brown.To begin his tenure with the Oilers he saw the ice for 16:35. The two games since his ice time has dropped to 15:26 and 14:13 respectively.
Last season he averaged 16:46 over four games. The two years prior he averaged 20:04 & 18:15.
Additionally, his penalty kill time on ice has dropped as well. He's gone from 2:31 to 1:01 to 0:20. The Oilers had six penalties in Game 1 and three penalties in Game 2 & Game 3.
If Brown stays on the third line going forward it would be good to have his penalty killing ice time be a priority. We will see if that starts tonight.
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