Down the stretch run of the 2023-24 season and through the playoffs, a shining light in Edmonton was the duo of Adam Henrique and Connor Brown.
Henrique, of course, had joined the Oilers at the trade deadline last year, while Brown had been struggling to find his way coming off an ACL tear, having more than his fair share of struggles. But these were two players who had already known each other prior to their arrival in Edmonton.
The pair were teammates at the 2021 World Championships where together they combined for 27 points. Brown led the entire tournament with 16 points, setting a Canadian record, while Henrique finished tied for third with 11 points of his own. Their underlying numbers in Edmonton down the stretch weren’t tremendous by any means, with the Oilers getting outplayed with them on the ice, but what they were able to do was outscore the opposition 3-1 in 69 minutes of five-on-five ice-time.
Early on this season, Henrique and Brown have been a staple on the Oilers’ third line, and have not only picked up where they left off in terms of producing offence, with a pair of goals that helped lead to Edmonton’s comeback against the Flyers Tuesday night, but their underlying numbers are greatly improved.
The sample size of this season is small, of course, with 37 minutes of five-on-five ice-time together, but the numbers are stark: they’ve controlled 66.7 percent of the shot attempt share, 72.2 percent of the scoring chance share, and an impressive 69 percent of the expected goal share.
“Brownie just needed some Rico in his life,” said Henrique after the Oilers’ 4-3 OT win over the Flyers, drawing a laugh in the locker room. “We just do a good job of feeding off each other and have that chemistry. We still talk quite a bit after each shift, or each play about what we’re thinking or what we’re seeing.
“Sometime it changes game-to-game, and in game, but he sees the ice so well, and I trust his feedback, for me, and same thing the other way. It felt great to get on the score board tonight.”
Henrique was the first of the two to score Tuesday, driving to the net and backhanding a puck top-shelf as Brown drove to the net. Eight minutes later, it was Brown’s turn. The line, which had Jeff Skinner on their left flank, had hemmed the Flyers in, allowing a puck to cycle quickly from defenceman Brett Kulak, to Skinner, who quickly fed Brown near the net, getting a shot away quickly that found the back of the net.
“Yeah, I certainly did,” Brown said with a life when asked about Henrique’s comment. “I love playing with Rico. I think we see the game similarly.
“There’s some tips that we think could’ve went our way in the first couple games, so it’s nice to have some bounces go our way. I think this team has been dying for our line to build us some momentum, so it was nice to contribute and get a win on the back of that.”
When the Oilers traded Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres this summer for top prospect Matthew Savoie, there was concern from this scribe about the Oilers’ ability to drive play in their bottom six. For as much as McLeod struggled to generate offence from the third line, he consistently positively flipped the play, and that’s always been a point of contention from the Oilers depth lines in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era.
But early on, this duo on the third line have been able to do exactly that — something that could be a huge boon to this Oilers squad.
“Our left-wingers have fluctuated, they’ve been up and down there,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblaauch of Jeff Skinner lining up beside them. “We’ve manoeuvred those guys. Our centremen and right-wingers have been pretty consistent, but those two… Their history goes back together a long time ago.
“I think the first time they played together was World Championships many years ago, then last year when those two were on a line, Janmark was part of that — I’m not sure what the chemistry is, but obviously there is some of it. (Jeff) Skinner has been up and down (the lineup), I thought he had an outstanding game the night before against Calgary, I thought that was his best game.
“Tonight, I thought he was good again. Unfortunately, with the amount of penalties, we reduced his ice-time, but again, I thought that was another strong game where he’s building to what we expect of him.”
The Oilers will surely be happy if Henrique and Brown can keep their heads above water at five-on-five this season, but if they can find a way to generate some consistent offence, that would be a significant development for the team.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
