The Edmonton Oilers head into Washington on Wednesday night with a lineup that looks less like strategic planning and more like making the best of what’s available. Injuries have forced Kris Knoblauch’s hand, pushing him to experiment with combinations that, under normal circumstances, might never see the ice together.

First, look at the second line: Andrew Mangiapane is right-winging Leon Draisaitl with Vasily Podkolzin on the left. On paper, it’s not the skill-heavy trio Edmonton typically deploys with 1/2 of their franchise centers. But maybe it’s what Draisaitl needs right now.

Mangiapane has been more defensively sound lately, reading plays better and positioning himself smarter in his own zone. He’s not perfect, but here’s the thing: Draisaitl doesn’t need to play with a $6 million winger. Sure, it’d be nice, but he’s not that picky. What he needs are linemates capable of supporting him in all three zones, not just waiting for passes. Magianpane, in part, can do that.

Podkolzin brings a physical element and willingness to retrieve pucks that could free up Draisaitl to focus on what he does best—creating offence. It won’t look pretty, but effectiveness rarely does.

Then there’s the third with Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, and Zach Hyman. This is veteran hockey, the kind of steady, unglamorous game that keeps teams afloat when the stars aren’t lighting up the scoreboard. Frederic’s a capable two-way player who won’t wow anyone but won’t hurt you either (sometimes). Henrique continues to be a smart, detail-oriented, steady center. And Hyman—well, Hyman does what he always does: works harder than everyone else on the ice. This trio could surprise people simply through reliability. They won’t dominate, but they might not need to. Sometimes, just breaking even is enough when your top line features Connor McDavid.

“We’ll just be working,” began Henrique. “We’ve got to play with our legs. I think a north-south simple game, muck-and-grind, and then finding a way to get pucks and bodies to the net. Finding a couple of ugly goals would be big for us, and I think that’s what’s expected.”

These aren’t ideal circumstances—no coach draws up combinations hoping injuries will force their hand. But the Oilers have learned something over the past few seasons: injury doesn’t have to mean disaster.

The defensive corps remains relatively stable. Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard are still the top D-pair, and Stuart Skinner is still Edmonton’s No. 1 (did we say stable, cause we meant expected), but don’t expect it to stay that way.

“The D pairs for the morning skate are going to be a lot different than during the game, just because we’ve got seven defencemen,” Knoblauch said. “So there’s going to be a lot of rotation there. We’ll expect Kulak to play some left and right side, probably Walman too, but we’re in a situation where we have to go 11 and 7, probably for the next three or maybe four games, so that’s what we’re doing.”

Whether these combinations work remains to be seen. Chemistry isn’t manufactured overnight, and asking players to adapt roles on the fly against a Capitals team that won’t offer any charity is a tall order.

But low-energy games don’t get wins, regardless of who’s in the lineup. If the Oilers can bring effort and structure, these makeshift lines might surprise everyone—especially themselves. And if Mangiapane’s defensive improvements translate up the lineup, if Podkolzin continues to complement Draisaitl’s skill with grit, if the veteran third line can grind opponents down through sheer professionalism, then maybe necessity becomes opportunity.

That’s the hope, anyway.