Knoblauch finds, sticks with line combinations as Oilers lose to Canucks

For maybe the first time all season, the Edmonton Oilers stuck with their line combinations for a whole game.

It’s been a point of contention for the fanbase — possibly even the players — through the first 10 games of the Oilers season, and while the team would fall 4-3 in overtime Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks, more positive signs started to show.

For one, Jack Roslovic had a breakout game, scoring a goal and an assist to go along with four shot on goal, as Leon Draisaitl lit the lamp twice in what would be a failed comeback effort. And while the line combinations are different than what’s been seen so far this season, they worked — for the most part.

Connor McDavid centred Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Andrew Mangiapane on the top line, while Draisaitl, Roslovic and Vasily Podkolzin made up the second line. Both lines were all over the ice, dominating puck possession and generating a plethora of good scoring chances. Draisaitl’s first goal as well as Roslovic’s third period marker both came at five-0n-five, an area the team has struggled to score in through the early parts of this season.

While the bottom-six may still be a work in progress, with Adam Henrique centring Trent Frederic and Curtis Lazar, and David Tomášek between rookies Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie, there were good signs.

“To come back down two in the third period is difficult anytime, and we’re able to get two and put it into overtime,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “McDavid had a pretty good chance at the end to get the full two points, but it would have been nicer not trailing two going into that third period and making it less difficult job for us.”

The defensive miscues continue to be an area this team needs to focus on, but through 10 games, the Oilers have been one of the best teams in the league at limiting opposing teams’ dangerous looks. They could just use a save or two.

Slowly but surely, though, the Oilers are putting games together. While Saturday’s effort against the Seattle Kraken and Sunday’s against the Canucks saw them walk away with just one point, they were two of the better games the team has played this season.

What plays into the Oilers’ favour is that their best players are still leading the way. Connor McDavid is up to a goal and 12 points on the season. Draisaitl’s two-goal game in the 800th of his career on his final day as a 29-year-old brought him up to seven goals and 11 points on the season, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has found his scoring touch again, putting up five goals and 11 points in 10 games.

Now, the Oilers are facing a three-game homestand this week that will see the red-hot Utah Mammoth roll into town Tuesday night, and the struggling New York Rangers on Thursday, before welcoming the Chicago Blackhawks next Saturday night.

“We usually play our best there in front of our fans, so hopefully we can do that,” said Knoblauch.

Edmonton has historically been a team stronger on home ice than on the road scoring 3.7 goals per game at home and 3 per game on the road over the last two years, and there would be no better time than now for that to ring true — especially considering only one of their 10 games this season has seen them score more than three.