Oilers' New Lines Unlock New Possibilities

Moving Jeff Skinner to the third line provides the Oilers with a bevy of options.

Andy Devlin (Edmonton Oilers) - Oilers' New Lines Unlock New Possibilities

The Oilers shuffled the deck ahead of their first win on Tuesday.

While the biggest move was the nuclear option of Leon Draisaitl on Connor McDavid's wing, that might not have been the most consequential to the Oilers' season. Jeff Skinner was moved from the second line to the third, next to Adam Henrique and Connor Brown.

Skinner fit in seamlessly with the two third-line stalwarts, finding Connor Brown on a beautiful passing play for the Oilers' second goal of the game. That line was the Oilers' best in what was a frustrating first two periods. Good enough, in fact, that it's worth giving them a longer runway to see if they can keep it up.

If a Skinner-Henrique-Brown third line takes off, it'll give the Oilers a whole bevy of options in their forward corps. For one, it offers Edmonton three legitimate scoring lines, alleviating any worries that they might be top-heavy.

We know that the usual top line of RNH-McDavid-Hyman is one of the best in the league, and a Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson line provides a lot of speed, skill, and size. If Skinner can be the triggerman on a line where Brown and Henrique muck it up in the corners and get the puck into the slot, the Oilers could really get cooking.

One worry is that replacing Skinner with Vasily Podkolzin on Draisaitl's line is a huge drop in finishing talent, which is definitely a concern. But Podkolzin plays hard with a nose for the net, and Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson are good enough shooters to get the job done.

Placing Skinner on the third line also allows the team to move Mattias Janmark to the fourth line, a job better suited for the speedy winger, especially on a line with two slower graybeards in Derek Ryan and Corey Perry.

The true beauty of Jeff Skinner on the third line is the way it opens up the rest of the lineup for an addition at the trade deadline. I'm an avowed Vasily Podkolzin fan, and I think he's a good fit on the second line, but he can still be improved upon.

Thankfully, the Oilers will have around $10 million in cap space at the trade deadline, between their accumulated space and their LTIR pool. That gives them the freedom to acquire another top-nine winger while still leaving room for a much-needed upgrade on the blueline.

Secondary scoring help is always available at the deadline, and this year's should be no different. Anaheim's Frank Vatrano and Calgary's Andrei Kuzmenko and Anthony Mantha already stand out as likely rentals that would each add their own unique element to Leon Draisaitl's wing -- or Adam Henrique's, for that matter.

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Even if Skinner doesn't stay on the third line -- and there's no guarantee he will -- his ability to move up and down the lineup gives the Oilers options. If McDavid-Hyman, Draisaitl-Arvidsson, and Henrique-Brown remain as constants on their lines, then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jeff Skinner, and Vasily Podkolzin can all swap in and out based on performance and opponent. Any winger the team might add at the deadline can fit neatly into such an arrangement, as well.

We'll see on Thursday whether Skinner's new deployment lasts, but either way, the Oilers' lineup certainly looks more fluid than it did just a few days ago.

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