The Edmonton Oilers are taking a bit of a risk if the lines at practice on Friday are any indication of what's to be expected in Saturday's afternoon game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Both Ike Howard and Quinn Hutson were recalled from the AHL an on the ice. Both were on the third line, with fellow rookie Matt Savoie. Three rookies on the third line? It's a gamble, with some serious potential for offense. TRENDING STORIES: Oilers Recall Two Red-Hot Rookies From AHL [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-recall-two-red-hot-rookies-from-ahl] A Dramatic Drop-Off On The Oilers’ Roster Is Becoming Hard To Ignore [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/a-dramatic-drop-off-on-the-oilers-roster-is-becoming-hard-to-ignore] NHL Rumors: 2 Trade Fits For Oilers' Andrew Mangiapane [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/nhl-rumors-2-trade-fits-for-oilers-andrew-mangiapane] Edmonton has struggled to find any offense from their third line of late. They wanted to create a spark so badly, they took Jack Roslovic off a successful second line and put him at center on the third line. It didn't work and Roslovic was almost immediately put back in the top six, with head coach Kris Knoblauch saying, "We made that switch putting Roslovic there. Obviously, we feel that Roslovic is a better player, but I thought Andrew [Mangiapane] did some things that helped us." Perhaps Mangiapane did some things, but it wasn't enough. He's now an asterisk [https://x.com/Bob_Stauffer/status/2007156253991350504?s=20] on the second line, and might be a healthy scratch. Vasily Podkolzin was under the weather and not on the ice Friday. Back to the third line... Can Matt Savoie successfully center a rookie third line? Photo by © Charles LeClaire Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a4ecc386-cdf0-4fc4-8d54-5adda1f5c75d.jpeg] Can Matt Savoie successfully center a rookie third line? Photo by © Charles LeClaire Imagn Images Having three rookies on the ice is asking a lot of that trio. It's clear that Huston and Howard can light it up at the AHL level. Howard scored 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 16 games with the Condors. Hutson has tallied 19 goals and 13 assists for 32 points in 26 games this season. Asking them to translate that over in the NHL won't be easy. And, while Savoie is a responsible two-way player, he's still fresh in the NHL, with only 46 total NHL games on his resume. The problems might come defensively. As sound as Savoie is, Hutson and Howard are question marks. Can the Oilers deploy that line in advantageous situations? On home ice, that's a bit easier to do. However, not always. These three will need to stay above water if they're going to see any minutes at all. The Flyers and any future opponents will try to isolate that line if they can get their top stars on the ice. Knoblauch wouldn't commit [https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/2007191146796327044?s=20] to the trio as a line for Saturday. He noted that there are some positives and negatives to the idea. Without an "NHL center," there is a risk. It is three smaller players, too. The positive is that they are skilled and have experience together. He noted that if he does go this route, he'll look at offensive zone starts and beneficial matchups. "There'll be some coaching," he said. Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/] team site to never miss the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/game-day] coverage, and more [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/players]. Add us to your Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwn-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] favourites, and never miss a story.
