McLellan mixes the lines
By Zach Laing
7 years agoAfter losing three games in a row, the Oilers appear to be bringing out the line blender.
That’s right. Three losses in a row. Falling to the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers in tight games has seemingly forced the hand of Todd McLellan and co. to mix up the lines ahead of Saturday night’s matchup against the New York Islanders.
Despite losing three in a row following a five-game win streak, the Oilers managed to squeak out a single point against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. As things stand right now, there’s not a whole lot to be happy about apart from the fact that the Oilers kept the games close.
So far this week, Jonathan Willis wrote about Kris Russell’s regression, Jacob Stoller wrote about how he felt the team’s winning ways could be sustainable, and Matt Henderson wrote about how the team needs to fix their power play if they plan on being successful.
All three gentlemen highlight some pros and cons from early in the season, but it remains clear that the young Oilers still have lots to work on.
THE LINES
The big changes from this morning’s practice sees Jesse Puljujarvi slide into a top-six role, as well as Patrick Maroon getting a bump to the first line. Milan Lucic slides down to the third line to play with Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers new “heavy-guy” line.
Lucic, who has been one of the Oilers strongest possession players this year, has had his own struggles early this season despite being second on the team in scoring.
The fact that Puljujarvi has gotten a bump in the lineup shows the team’s confidence in the young man. Puljujarvi has played well over the past few games and the coaching staff appears to be rewarding him for his strong play.
Todd McLellan had this to say about the big Finn: (source)
After some back-and-forth hockey midway through the middle frame, Edmonton capitalized on an interesting play. Puljujarvi and Maroon came down the ice on a 2-on-1 rush.Puljujarvi, clearly tired from a long shift and feeling the effects of a blocked shot, wasn’t traveling with much speed and tried to stick-handle around a sprawling Dan Girardi. The Rangers defenceman got a stick on it, but Puljujarvi was able to get it around him and over to Maroon in front. The Oilers winger finished the play for his third goal of the year.“He stuck with it,” said McLellan. “He was tired, he was a little bit sore as well from blocking that shot, so his skating was not real smooth but he stuck with the puck, made a good play to Patrick and he put it in.”Maroon was impressed with the rookie’s sacrifice on the play.“It all starts with him blocking that shot, getting in the land, and that’s where it all started from,” said Maroon. “He did a really good job of that, sacrificing his body and blocking a shot and he stuck with it. He kept battling and kept battling and it finally got to us. He worked really hard on that play. It’s good to see.”
For one, the team has done a very good job in sheltering and allowing Puljujarvi to grow as a player. The more games he plays, the more we see the solid two-way play he is capale of. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the Oilers try to get a spark.
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