Brown comes out: Oilers tweak lineup ahead of battle against Coyotes
It looks like the Edmonton Oilers will be giving Connor Brown some time in the press box.
The disappointing offseason acquisition had himself another underwhelming game against the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon. Despite the team eventually pulling out a 4-3 victory, Brown was directly responsible for losing coverage on his man for two goals against.
This earned him limited ice time in the third period, playing just over nine minutes all game, which was only ahead of Sam Gagner’s ice time. OilersNow radio host Bob Stauffer was at Oilers practice this morning and shared the lines that head coach Kris Knoblauch was running.
The @EdmontonOilers practice in Scottsdale this morning:
Draisaitl-McDavid-Perry
Kane-RNH-Hyman
Janmark-McLeod-Foegele
Gagner-Holloway-Ryan
BrownEkholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Ceci
Kulak-DesharnaisSkinner
Pickard— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) February 18, 2024
The top two lines have remained intact, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl staying together with Corey Perry. Evander Kane and Zach Hyman will be centred by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the second line.
The bottom six, however, has seen a few changes. After missing yesterday’s game with an illness, it appears that Dylan Holloway will be inserted back into the lineup, acting as the team’s fourth-line centre beside Sam Gagner and Derek Ryan, who got on the board with a shorthanded goal in Dallas.
Brown has lost his spot on that line and was the extra forward during line rushes. His absence means that Gagner will play his second consecutive game and Mattias Janmark will move up to play with Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele.
It has been a year to forget for Brown. He was signed by the Oilers in the offseason with hopes that he could return to form after recovering from a major injury that caused him to miss all of last season. It seemed like Edmonton had him pencilled in as a top-six winger earlier to start the year, but the results have been disastrous.
Brown is the only player on the Oilers’ active roster without a goal and has just four assists in 44 games. Fan frustration with the player has reached its peak lately, and it seems like that frustration is starting to resonate with the coaching staff as well.
Tomorrow’s game against the Arizona Coyotes is an afternoon affair with puck drop set for 2 pm MT on Sportsnet One.