Kane promoted: Oilers shake up lines amid 10-game streak
The Edmonton Oilers look like they are shaking up their forward lines ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Practice took place at Rogers Place this morning and Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch ran a few different forward lines, including a new-look second line. Edmonton Sports Talk’s Tom Gazzola had the first report of the changes.
Evander Kane skating with Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele. Ryan McLeod on the wing with Derek Ryan and Mattias Janmark this morning. pic.twitter.com/0ywGdRxxr9
— Tom Gazzola (@TomGazzola) January 15, 2024
Evander Kane has been promoted back into the team’s top six to play alongside Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele. This comes after he played in that spot against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday as Ryan McLeod was out sick.
Kane has been struggling to produce of late, with just three points in his last 13 games. His underlying analytics have also been underwhelming with an expected goals-for percentage of 51.75 and a high-danger goals-for percentage of just 38.71, according to Natural Stat Trick.
His hitting is been down lately as well, tallying 0 against the Canadiens and a total of six hits in his last six games.
McLeod, who now appears to be healthy, has been moved back down to the third line to play with Mattias Janmark and Derek Ryan. It looks like McLeod won’t be centring that line and will remain on the wing.
The 24-year-old caught fire in late December as he flourished in a top-six role, but that offence has cooled down to three points over his last six games. However, one thing McLeod did provide on the second line was an element of speed that is absent in Kane’s toolset.
The rest of the lineup doesn’t appear to have any major changes coming to it. The top line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, and Zach Hyman has continued to be one of the league’s finest and the fourth line of Adam Erne, James Hamblin, and Connor Brown looks like it will remain intact.
Defensive pairs have been consistent for the majority of the season and that is expected to continue. In goal, there is no word on who will get the start but, considering the opponent, it should be safe to say that Stuart Skinner will most likely get the call.
Gametime against the Leafs is set for tomorrow at 7 pm MT on Sportsnet West.
Follow Channels and Categories