A look at Oilers’ forward line combinations that could have the most upside with Leon Draisaitl sidelined |
The Edmonton Oilers faced their first taste of adversity without Leon Draisaitl in the lineup, coming out flat last game and falling 4-0 to their arch-nemesis, the Florida Panthers.
In a game where you’d expect the Oilers, who are in a tight playoff race, to face a team that’s beaten them twice in the Stanley Cup Final over the last two seasons, and hasn’t been shy about rubbing it in, with the ultimate heel, Matthew Tkachuk, even chirping Draisaitl at the Olympics — you’d think there would be plenty of bite and emotion in their last game.
Instead, the Oilers played uninspired, were guilty of overpassing in prime scoring chances, and ultimately couldn’t get a puck past Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been struggling this season.
That said, against the Panthers, the first line was Vasily Podkolzin, Connor McDavid, and Matt Savoie. They looked good in spurts, making several one-touch passes and having their fair share of scoring chances, but ultimately couldn’t bury them. The trio posted a 7-5 advantage in shots and held a 5-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances (HDCF%).
I feel Podkolzin was promoted to the top line not only because he’s been one of the Oilers’ best players since the Olympic break, and statistically has the second-best goals-for percentage (72.73 GF%) at five-on-five with the Oilers’ captain, but also to provide some extra protection for McDavid in case things got heated against the Panthers.
However, moving forward, with Draisaitl out of the lineup, I feel the best move would be to take Podkolzin off the first line and let him drive his own line in the bottom six. That said, given that the Oilers didn’t score last game, changes to the forward lines are all but inevitable. If I were making the calls, I’d try the following line combinations up front, moving forward:
Line 1: Matt Savoie – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
This line combination is a given. With a big game coming up against a very good Tampa Bay Lightning team, the Oilers need a scoring line that they know works, and as we’ve seen lately, the Savoie-McDavid-Hyman line certainly does.
Savoie has been an excellent addition to the first line, very much in sync with the Oilers’ captain, finding him in stride on several occasions, with the pair combining for three goals over the last four games. Overall, according to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Savoie–McDavid–Hyman has produced three goals at five-on-five over their last three games together, giving up none, with scoring chances 24-14 in their favour.........