Oilers Should Split Up McDavid & Draisaitl

Trent Frederic, Filip Hallander, and Kasperi Kapanen were the second line. That is not an NHL second line on a good team. Hallander and Frederic shouldn’t be centres, but have been forced into these roles. Yes, the injuries are a factor, but they can’t load up the top dogs and expect production from the other lines.

The Oilers’ next three games are against the Mammoth, Minnesota Wild, and Carolina Hurricanes. All three are playoff teams, and two of them are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. You can’t expect to beat them with one effective line. Playing them together makes line matching extremely easy for the opposition, especially if they have centre depth. The game plan would be to shut down that one line, which is easier said than done. Spreading the wealth will force other teams to make tougher decisions about which line to deploy against each superstar.

After the last game, Babcock admitted to playing the big guns too much. McDavid played 25:52, and Draisaitl played 23:00. Separating them is ideal because it keeps them on the ice as much as possible. If they are driving their own lines, at least one of them will be on the ice more often. This will maximize their playing time, and that should be the objective.

Potential Line Combinations

Note: These line combinations don’t include Hyman, who should hopefully return within the next few games.

Trent Frederic — Connor McDavid — Isaac Howard

Vasily Podkolzin — Leon Draisaitl — Kasperi Kapanen

Alex Formenton — Owen Michaels — Mathieu Joseph

Max Jones — Josh Samanski — Filip Hallander

This lineup isn’t ideal, but what options do they have? At least the Oilers would have an elite player on the top two lines, while spreading out the centre depth. They can also play McDavid and Draisaitl together in certain situations, but shouldn’t be primary linemates. The Oilers are better when they are separated, especially long term.

Frederic shouldn’t be on the top line, but he may need to be elevated. Hopefully Hyman is back for the next game so he can take that spot, bumping Frederic to the fourth line, and taking Jones out.

This should be the perfect opportunity to move Howard up and play him with skill. He’s not a fit on the fourth line. If he can’t get an opportunity with this injured forward group, he’ll never get one.

That second line has played together a lot and has chemistry. They’ve played 12:16 together at 5-on-5 this season, outchancing their opponents 12-0 and outshoting them 14-2. Babcock should consider using that trio again.

Then, while that third line won’t score much, they will provide speed, physicality, and energy. The Oilers need to work with what they have and make the most of it. These suggested lines could be adequate until players return from injury.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.