EDMONTON, AB – After a line shuffle in the third period on Tuesday seemed to spark the Edmonton Oilers on their way to collecting their 14th consecutive victory, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch is electing to begin tonight's contest against the Chicago Blackhawks with the same combinations.
"We're gonna start the game tonight the way we finished last game," said Knoblauch.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were assembled on the top line with Zach Hyman during Thursday's morning skate in a move that sees Ryan Nugent-Hopkins drop down to the second line between Evander Kane and Warren Foegele, who both recorded goals in Edmonton's 14th straight win on Tuesday over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid and Hyman had been one of the NHL's most-productive lines with a 382-211 advantage in scoring chances and 65.71 GF% in 291:45 of ice time together this season, as per Natural Stat Trick, but the bench boss recognized his team's need to adjust entering the third period on Tuesday and hopes to see that effort translate to the start of tonight's meeting with the Blackhawks.
"I often think as coaches, we overreact," Knoblauch said. "We change things up more than they need to, and often it's up to the players to figure things out and work things out. There are times when you are changing things up for a strategy or line matches or something like that, but I think the last game, it was just ultimately we need to make a change. We were very stale. We needed to freshen things up and they responded in the third period."
