Kane demoted: Oilers make changes to their forward lines
Another frustrating loss for the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night has forced head coach Jay Woodcroft to mix up his forward lines once again.
Perhaps the most notable change of the forward group is on the first line, as Evander Kane has been demoted, while Zach Hyman was seen practicing alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Seeing Kane removed from the first line doesn’t come as a major surprise, as he has struggled early this season with just one assist through four games.
Another change that has many talking is that of the second line, as Warren Foegele has shifted from left wing to right, while Mattias Janmark will jump from fourth-line centre to play with Foegele and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. It isn’t the second line any Oilers fans had envisioned going into the season, and shows how ugly things have gone for this club in the early going.
The demoted Kane appeared on the third line at today’s skate with Ryan McLeod in the middle and Connor Brown on the right side. One name missing from that third line is Dylan Holloway, who despite being pointless through four games has been one of the better Oilers forwards by the eye test. Despite that, however, he practiced on the fourth line today on a line with Derek Ryan and Adam Erne.
Based on today’s practice, no changes will be made on the blue line heading into tomorrow night’s outing versus the Winnipeg Jets, as Vincent Desharnais was paired alongside Brett Kulak while Philip Broberg was the extra. Stuart Skinner was seen in the starting net, which isn’t a surprise after Campbell allowed four goals on 32 shots in last night’s 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
As disappointing of a start to the season as this is for the Oilers, teams would always rather get their struggles out of the way earlier than later. Given the star power this team possesses, it doesn’t seem likely these struggles will carry on much longer. That said, tomorrow night’s game versus the Jets feels quite important for what is only their fifth game of the season.
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