Moments before puck drop tonight against the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers unveiled several major lineup changes to shake up the team.
According to Oilers reporter Tony Brar, Jeff Skinner has been elevated to the first line, with Nugent-Hopkins being bumped down to the second. Podkolzin has been moved up to the third line, with Janmark playing on the fourth line. Ty Emberson will come out of the lineup in favour of Troy Stecher, paired with Brett Kulak.
Most line changes seem pretty intuitive from Knoblauch here. The first like has been struggling to convert on offensive chances and could benefit from a shooter like Skinner, who had a great game last night. The third line has been in desperate need of some more speed, which Vasily Podkolzin can bring as well.
Ty Emberson coming out of the lineup is relatively significant, as he's struggled in his first few games with the Oilers. Emberson came to the Oilers as a promising young defenceman who succeeded with the Sharks, but he has only played 32 NHL games. He's 24 years old, so he should be coming into his prime, but perhaps he needs a little more coaching and development.
And after the back to back, Stuart Skinner will be tending the goal. After being pulled in game one against the Winnipeg Jets and the Oilers gave up 5 more goals to the Chicago Blackhawks, it will be critical for Skinner to shut the door tonight.
It's a bold move for Knoblauch to seriously revamp the lineup in only game 3 of the season, but it's a much needed shake up for the roster. They need to avoid having another slow start, and this will be a shot in the arm before a great rivalry game. The Oilers better respond, or the concerns around them early this year will only get louder
