BLOG: Oilers trying different combinations on the power play

EDMONTON, AB – Even something as seemingly untouchable or unreproducible as the Oilers long-considered best power play in the NHL can use the occasional shake-up to keep things fresh.

During Wednesday’s practice at Rogers Place, the Oilers took steps toward finding a few different power-play combinations to throw at their opponents that didn’t include all of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard.

“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of skilled players, and we've been together for a long time,” said Leon Draisaitl, who’s scored a franchise-best 147 power-play goals in his career. "But it hasn't really gone our way and we haven't been able to create the looks that we've wanted.

“Sometimes, a little shake-up can be beneficial.”

The top unit during Wednesday's full-team practice saw McDavid and Draisaitl be joined by Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, while defencemen Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm rotated between the first and second units. Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins were next to Adam Henrique and Darnell Nurse to complete the second group.

Considering the longevity and success of the five Oilers skaters’ partnership on the top-unit PP, owning a league-best 29.5 percent PP% over the last two seasons, it’s a rare change to the group that helped set the NHL record at 32.9 percent back in 2022-23, but this year’s numbers haven’t been as eye-popping.

Slowed by a 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) cold stretch to start the 2024-25 season, the Oilers coaching staff thought it was a good opportunity with a few practice days ahead of them to try out some different power-play combinations before facing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Hall of Fame Night this Friday.

As to whether or not these combinations will actually stick before Sidney Crosby & the Penguins visit Rogers Place in a few days, that remains to be seen, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch alluded to after Wednesday's practice. But what the bench boss isn't necessarily trying to do is replicate the chemistry of his top unit; instead, there are different times of the game and different opponents that could command an alternative approach on the power play.

Despite the continuity of Edmonton's current top group in recent seasons, the bench boss affirms that this is nothing new for the power play, albeit rare.

"Just getting an opportunity to practice and give us some different looks," Knoblauch said, "To think that we can replace the first-unit power play and be better, I don't think that's necessarily the case. I think that it's good to have some flexibility. Maybe it's injury or another team's pre-scout, or maybe a power play goes a little bit longer and you want to make a switch.

"I know this team has traded out guys in the past. I know just recently, Bouchard took over for Tyson Barrie on the power play midseason. Often, it's been Kane and Hyman, and even back farther with Chiasson and Neal. There's been all that, and that's kind of what we're thinking about with maybe having some different looks but not replacing our top power-play unit."

The Oilers went 1-for-4 on the power play in their 3-2 overtime defeat to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. On their opening power play, they looked like their normal selves, generating three shots and numerous more great looks but failing to look a threat on their second man advantage before the intermission.

Later in the game, despite McDavid's PPG in the second period, there wasn't as much going for them with the man advantage, and another goal could've gone a long way in halting the Hurricanes' comeback that began in the third period with two goals before Sebastian Aho completed it with seven seconds left in overtime.

After goaltender Stuart Skinner did his job with 30 saves, another special-teams contribution – either a stop on the PK or a PPG – could've turned the tide against Carolina. For a team that's heavily benefitted from its historic success on the power play over recent seasons, it's not necessarily an area they expected to struggle with only two PPGs on 19 power plays.

"There's always things during the season that you need to address. When things aren't going well, something's usually slipping," Knoblauch said. "Right now, with the way their season has gone, there's been a lot of things to address: the power play, the penalty kill, scoring goals. [The power play] was one thing that I didn't anticipate that we were going to have problems doing.

"I think to win games, two things are so important: special teams and goaltending. Last night, we got exceptional goaltending, and then, throughout the regular season, our special teams have not been what we expected. You look at our run through the playoffs, and the biggest reason why we got through that run was our penalty kill and our power play. For this team, you know their identity – to have success, our special teams have to be a big part of it. Right now, they're not."

If they get another goal on their three other chances, Draisaitl says, it could've been a different conversation he was having after Wednesday's morning practice about potential changes to their PP1 unit. But results are results, and there have been plenty of moments when he knows they could've done more with their opportunities.

Still, the German knows that his group of Draisaitl, McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman and Bouchard is bound to touch the ice again together in the near future, and nobody knows their potential more than them.

"I think we could've been 2-for-4 last night, and everyone would think 50 percent and everyone's happy, but we couldn't capitalize," Draisaitl said. "This is a new look, but it doesn't mean that it's set in stone. We know what we have with our unit, and it's just a matter of time for us to find that again."