McDavid and Draisaitl separated: Oilers shake up forward lines amid slump

The Edmonton Oilers have shaken up their forward lines amid a three-game losing streak.

With the league-worst San Jose Sharks next up on the schedule tomorrow night, head coach Jay Woodcroft made some sweeping changes at Wednesday’s practice.

The team has opted to break up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, having them play on two separate lines. Ryan McLeod has been promoted to play on the left wing of McDavid, while Zach Hyman will slot in as the top-line right wing.

Draisaitl will move down to centre the team’s second line with young upstart Dylan Holloway on his left side and Warren Foegele on the right.

Oilers Now radio host Bob Stauffer was able to share the full practice lines:

Oilers practice today:

McLeod-McDavid-Hyman
Holloway-Draisaitl-Foegele
Kane-RNH-Gagner
Lavoie-Hamblin-Ryan

Nurse-Ceci
Ekholm-Bouchard
Kulak-Desharnais

Skinner
Luding (EBUG from UBC)

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) November 8, 2023

Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins appear to be demoted down to the team’s third line, with Sam Gagner joining them on the right wing. This trio has played the last few games together, typically in a second-line role. Kane and Gagner in particular have shown some chemistry together.

The fourth line remains unchanged as rookies Raphael Lavoie and James Hamblin will stay together with veteran Derek Ryan.

These curious lineup changes from Woodcroft show a vote of confidence for a few of the team’s younger players.

Holloway getting top-six minutes with Draisaitl is particularly surprising. The 22-year-old has looked good this season but hasn’t been able to add to the scoresheet, with 0 points in the first 11 games of the season. Over the weekend, it appeared Woodcroft benched him for stretches against the Nashville Predators, playing just 6:31.

That being said, he did look very good against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

McLeod is another player that is looking to kickstart his offence. He has served as the team’s third-line centre for the majority of the season so far but has not been getting the results, scoring just a single assist in 11 games. Lining him up with McDavid will be interesting as both players are known for their speed.

The Oilers’ defensive pairs don’t appear to have any changes, and Woodcroft has not confirmed tomorrow night’s starting goalie.

After Jack Campbell cleared waivers earlier today, Stuart Skinner would be the presumptive starter. However, there is always a chance the team opts to get an early look at how AHL call-up Calvin Pickard handles NHL action.

Puck drop against the Sharks is set for tomorrow night at 8:30 pm MT on Sportsnet West.

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