Edmonton Oilers are broken, but perhaps there’s a way to fix it

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The Edmonton Oilers tried a unique strategy in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Kings with their top four lines and top two defensive pairings, essentially uniting groups of players who had rarely if ever played together in the 2024-25 regular season.

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Edmonton lost a game but it’s too much to say this strategy was a disaster. Both teams had seven Grade A shots at even strength, with Los Angeles scoring three times, Edmonton twice.

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Edmonton’s real woes came on special teams, where Los Angeles had eight power play Grade A shots and three goals, the Oilers just two Grade A shots and no goals.

That said, even in 5-on-5 play the Oilers never looked like a well-lubricated machine. They constantly shot themselves in the skate. They were plagued by offsides, atrocious reads, missed passes and turnovers.

I’ll suggest that the unfamiliarity of each line and the top two pairings had some impact on that disconnectedness.

Coach Kris Knoblauch built each line in Game 2 around two forwards who had played a reasonable amount of time with one another in the regular season, but then added in  a third player to each line who had played hardly at all with the other two:

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• Top line: Corey Perry with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the two stars playing 471 regular season even strength minutes together.
• Second line: Evander Kane on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, who spent 519 even strength minutes together this season, most often with McDavid as their centre.
• Third line: Trent Frederic with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown, who played 398 even strength minutes together this season.
• Fourth line: Mattias Janmark on a line with steady regular season linemates Vasili Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson, who played 468 minutes together this season, mostly on a line with Draisaitl.

If you add up how much time each trio on the four lines played together this regular season, the total is 228 5-on-5 minutes, hardly at all.

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The Oil’s top two defensive units also rarely took the ice as duos this year, with the exception being the third pairing of Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson, who played 581 even strength minutes together this season.

Again, even strength play wasn’t a disaster for the Oilers in Game 2, not like special teams were, but the Oilers also got beat in 5-on-5 play in the game. That can’t happen if Edmonton is to win Game 3.

It will be interesting to see if Knoblauch sticks with these lines or goes with lines where the players know one another much better.

My suggestion to start the game?

RNH McDavid Hyman
Kane Draisaitl Arvidsson
Janmark Henrique Brown
Podkolzin Frederic Perry

Walman Bouchard
Nurse Klingberg
Kulak Emberson

Pickard

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In this scenario, the trios on the first and third lines have often played together, while Kane has often played with Draisaitl, as has Arvidsson with Drasaitl.

The fourth line is more of a mish mash. If one of the players in the top three isn’t performing, the Oilers can bump them down to the fourth line, and move up whomever is playing best.

Make sense?

P.S. For a few months now I’ve said the Oilers need two things to win the Cup this year, good health and the commitment to championship defence.

So far, Edmonton has had neither.

Los Angeles has had more Grade A shots both games, and Edmonton’s health took a huge hit in the final months of the season, with Mattias Ekholm still out and other players still finding their way after injury or still nursing them.

The health of the team won’t improve during a playoff grind. Without championship defence in the next few games, the season is over.

At the Cult of Hockey

STAPLES: Game grades in Game 2

LEAVINS: Game grades in Game 1

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