Preview: Edmonton Oilers drop projected lineup against Washington Capitals
The Edmonton Oilers are gearing up for a thrilling showdown against the Washington Capitals tonight, but theyr will have to make due without their captain and superstar Connor McDavid, who has been suspended for 3 games.
With that being said, McDavid's absence has caused head coach Kris Knoblauch to make substantial adjustments to the roster.
View Edmonton's Projected Lineup vs. Washington below:
Skinner - Nugent-Hopkins - Hyman
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Perry - Philp - Kapanen
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson
Skinner
Pickard
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Perry - Philp - Kapanen
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson
Skinner
Pickard
According to Liam McCormick of Oilers Daily, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will slide over to play first line center, which will keep Draisaitl's dominant second line intact. In Nuge's place, Jeff Skinner has surprisingly been elevated to the top line.
Jeff Skinner has been a frequent healthy scratch in the last two weeks, and has mostly played bottom six minutes this season.
A new opportunity has emerged for Skinner to prove he's a top-six player -- a chance he's been eagerly awaiting for quite some time.
"It's an opportunity for everybody," Knoblauch said. "Jeff definitely will get some opportunities to play more minutes than he has and move up in the lineup a little bit, but we're gonna need everyone stepping up a little bit more.
Just with the absence of Connor, obviously, that's a huge void, but we're going to have to do it by community."
Just with the absence of Connor, obviously, that's a huge void, but we're going to have to do it by community."
"I think they've got three lines that can score. I think four lines that are very responsible, but all four that play hard," Knoblauch said.
"I think a lot of their goals are coming off the rush, and they've got a lot of speed to their lineup, a lot of simplicity and they work hard.
They're getting timely goals. But also, I don't think they cheat at all. I think they're well-coached. I think they play a really well-run game and you can see that with their team defence."
"I think a lot of their goals are coming off the rush, and they've got a lot of speed to their lineup, a lot of simplicity and they work hard.
They're getting timely goals. But also, I don't think they cheat at all. I think they're well-coached. I think they play a really well-run game and you can see that with their team defence."
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