BLOG: Oilers aim to build forward flexibility before regular season

EDMONTON, AB – Time remains for the Blue & Orange to try out some different forward combinations before the start of the regular season.

“Right now, we're just trying to find out who can play well together; who's kind of getting comfortable with each other,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Each night, it’s going to be a little different."

During Monday’s practice at the Downtown Community Arena in ICE District, the Oilers experimented with their lines ahead of Wednesday’s season-opener against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place in an attempt to try and build out three balanced scoring units and figure out some other potential combinations that could prove beneficial over the course of their 82-game regular season.

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch placed winger Jeff Skinner next to centre Adam Henrique and winger Connor Brown on the team’s third line, while winger Mattias Janmark moved into the top six at Monday's skate to provide a different look on the second line beside Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson.

The change gives Janmark a chance to showcase himself in a lead offensive role and develop some chemistry next to his German & Swedish counterparts in a spot that's primarily been occupied by Edmonton's off-season signing, who was brought in as a potential solution to finding Draisaitl consistent wingers for the upcoming campaign.

Knoblauch said after practice that he and his coaching staff don’t feel beholden to keeping their top three forward lines the same despite running those combinations for most of Training Camp and Preseason, which wrapped up for the Blue & Orange on Saturday with a 4-1 loss to the Canucks.

The bench boss knows they won't stay the same every night over Edmonton's 82-game schedule, so the decision during Monday's practice to move Skinner down and Janmark up was the club's latest attempt to utilize every moment before the regular season starts to give players a chance to form connections with teammates that could provide significant benefits down the road.

"Just having options," Knoblauch said. "We're not set on any of the lines right now and Skinner might be back there tomorrow for practice, but we just know that we need some flexibility. With Skinner, if he does play with Rico, it just gives us more balanced scoring on the three lines. Maybe not so much of a shutdown third line, but we need some flexibility."

"I think right now it's best to play with the lines, and maybe a little more north-to-south guy like Janmark [could be beneficial]. We have other options. Maybe Perry goes up there or Podkolzin gets an opportunity, but right now, just with Skinner being on that third line, I know it'd be tough to match those three lines because we've got scoring on all three."

Adding Janmark to the second line gives Draisaitl two players who fit his criteria for the type of teammate he likes to play with.

While chemistry hasn't fully formed yet, the German superstar picked out his budding connection with the speedy and creative Arvidsson, who's been strapped to his wing for almost every practice and pre-season game, signing a contract with the Blue & Orange this offseason with the caveat that he could be spending a lot of his time in Oil Country next to No. 29.

"He's looked great. He's a really good player and a very established player," Draisaitl said. "Every year, he seems just to get it done and goes about it, goes about his thing and his business, and I'm excited to create more chemistry with him and get to know him a little better on and off the ice.

However, Draisaitl is keenly aware that a big part of finding chemistry with different linemates begins with him,

"First of all, I'd like to say that I think I can make any player better. It doesn't matter what type of player that is," he said. That's my goal, and that's what I strive for every day.

"But I think he's just a smart hockey player. He finds pockets; he finds holds. He's really smart at reading off of guys, and I can see that already quite a bit in practice in the games. He just knows where to go and obviously, he's got a motor to him and get pucks and get in on the forecheck. I've always gelled well with players of that type.