3 Lines that will work best for Edmonton Oilers? They have them

by


The three forward lines that will work best for the Edmonton Oilers? The Oil have already found them. They just need all their forwards to get healthy at once.

Those three units are:

  • Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi, which has a 61% Goal For percentage in 242 even minutes strength, 11 goals for, seven against
  • Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane and Kailer Yamamoto, 75% Goals For percentage, three goals for and one against in 113 minutes
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Derek Ryan and Warren Foegele, 71% Goals For percentage, five goals for and two against in 54 minutes.

All the Oilers need now is some good health, namely everyone else staying fit until RNH and Puljujarvi return to the line-up in a few weeks. This, of course, is easier said that done, but if Edmonton can roll with these three lines in the final weeks of the season, the team has a good shot of going on a winning streak, so long as the goaltending and special teams come around.

None of these lines has been as dominant over time as the top Oilers line of the McDavid era, which ironically did not include McD himself.

That line, the DYNamite Line of Draisaitl, Yamamoto and RNH, ripped it up in the final months of the 2019-20 season and for a bit in the 2020-21, scoring 32 goals and giving up 11 for a 74% Goals For percentage .

But the DYNamites failed to recapture that magic this year. They were as likely to get pushed off the puck as work a strong passing play.

But the new Kane, Drai and Yamo trio has looked good.

One other line I’d like to see? We’ve only seen four minutes of Draisaitl, Puljujarvi and Hyman together, but I suspect this group would be a beast cycling the puck.

If the Oilers need to shake up things when JP gets back, it might be worth going with this heavy hockey line, putting McD with Kane and Yamo, a trio that has also had success in limited minutes.

And if RNH can get it going again with Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan, the Oilers will have something in the Top 9 trios.

Of course, the Oilers do not have JP or RNH for now, nor in the next few weeks. It seems like a decent idea to put Ryan McLeod with Foegele and Ryan on the third line, but that leaves Edmonton short one Puljujarvi-class winger on the top line.

Maybe it’s time to call up Dylan Holloway and see if he can help out, if not on the top line, then as a checker, allowing McLeod to move up the roster.

The Oilers have sent big and banging Markus Niemelainen back to the Bake. Niemo did some strong work in Edmonton, especially in providing a much needed physical element.

The Oilers have been badly in need of a shut-down d-man since Adam Larsson left.

Niemelainen is not projected to be a Top 4 NHL d-man like Larsson, but perhaps he can provide something of a shut-down game in the bottom-pairing next season.

I could see Edmonton going into the year with Nurse and Ceci on the top-pairing, Keith and Bouchard on the second pairing and perhaps Niemelainen and Philip Broberg on the bottom pairing next year.

Of course, Edmonton may well decide it needs to bring in a Top 4 d-man to bolster the roster at the trade deadline or this summer, but that’s easier said that done.

Indeed, the loss of Larsson haunts this team just now and may continue to do so.

PS Not sure who Nichols’ source is, but he closely follows the Islanders team and is reporting this:


Leave a Comment