Wednesday's practice featured three new players on the Oilers' top powerplay unit.
Wednesday's practice featured three new players on the Oilers' top powerplay unit.
There might be some big changes on the horizon for the Oilers.
Their practice on Wednesday featured some new looks on the powerplay, the first big changes this unit has seen in a very long time.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl anchored the top unit, as always. But they were joined by Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, as opposed to their usual partners Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Nuge and Hyman played on the second unit, with Adam Henrique.
They also played with their defencemen, swapping Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm in and out between the two units, while Darnell Nurse stayed on unit #2.
Those are some pretty significant changes, especially considering Hyman is coming off a 50-goal season and Nugent-Hopkins cleared 100 points two years ago. But there's no guarantee that these changes will last past Wednesday's practice.
Kris Knoblauch was hesitant to make any commitment afterwards.
"It was just getting an opportunity to practice it and give us some different looks," Knoblauch told reporters. "To replace the first unit that we have and be better, I don't think that's necessarily the case."
"I think it's good to have some flexibility," he continued, "maybe it's an injury or a team with a pre-scout, maybe a powerplay that goes a little bit longer and you want to make some switches."
These changes could simply be a shot across the bow at Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins, and Bouchard, all of whom have struggled to start the year. Bouchard has been prone to turnovers and has only notched two points, while Nugent-Hopkins is still looking for his first goal and Hyman has yet to record a point of any kind.
Jeff Skinner has been one of the team's best offensive players to start the year, with 2 goals and 4 points, along with a bevy of great chances in a goalless night on Tuesday. Viktor Arvidsson still hasn't gotten on the scoresheet as an Oiler and could need another opportunity like this to get going.
The circumstances around these changes are still surprising. For one, the team's powerplay looked good against Carolina on Tuesday night. They were in vintage form during their first opportunity, before finally cracking the code with a goal on their second, ending the game 1-for-4. That one goal brings them to 10.5% on the year, a reminder of how quickly percentages can change this early in the season.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogJl0-p7Bso[/embed]
What's really surprising, however, is that Knoblauch said on Monday that he wasn't considering making a change on the powerplay. What changed between Monday and Wednesday, especially if they saw encouraging signs on Tuesday?
One thing is for sure: Knoblauch isn't tipping his hand as to how the powerplay will look on Friday against Pittsburgh.
"You'll have to wait and see," he said with a smile.
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