When news broke that Leon Draisaitl would be out of the lineup for the remainder of the regular season, I think everyone in Oil Country went through their own mini stages of grief, before the reality set in that it would take a team-wide effort from the rest of the Edmonton Oilers to fill his shoes.

That said, Elliotte Friedman recently shared that GM Stan Bowman said the German superstar is expected back at the end of the regular season, but the team will still need everyone to step up in the meantime.

And so far, so good sans Draisaitl, with five different scorers and all four lines pitching in to beat the San Jose Sharks 5–3 in the last game. With that in mind, this edition of Oilers Thoughts will focus on a few Oilers who’ve stepped up as of late and will need to keep elevating their game.

Matt Savoie looks right at home on the top line.

When Ryan Nugent-Hopkins returned to Edmonton for personal reasons before the final game of the Oilers’ recent four-game road trip, Matt Savoie was moved up to the top line against the St. Louis Blues. Since then, he’s looked smooth and slick on the first line, making the most of his opportunity.

His chemistry with Connor McDavid clicked almost immediately against the Blues, finding his captain in stride multiple times, playing fetch, and had chances to score himself. That said, McDavid talked about his recent chemistry with the youngster, “I’ve been getting the puck in great spots because of him. Getting the puck off the wall isn’t an easy thing to do.” He added, “He seems to do it really well.”

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Matt Savoie has played with Connor McDavid on the top line over the last two games, and since then, they’ve combined for a pair of goals at 5v5. The chemistry is real. Here are some of their best plays together from the last two games.

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2:51 AM · Mar 16, 2026

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That chemistry continued two nights later against the Nashville Predators, with a couple of nice give-and-gos and quick plays, one of which resulted in Savoie scoring the game-winning goal, finishing off McDavid’s saucer pass on a 2-on-1. Adding to his point total, he also picked up an assist last game against San Jose on Zach Hyman’s insurance marker.

Overall, according to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Savoie–McDavid–Hyman has combined for three goals at five-on-five over the last three games, giving up none, with scoring chances 24-14 in their favour.

With Draisaitl out of the lineup, the Oilers need a solid go-to line, and Savoie, who has three points........

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