The Edmonton Oilers may have beefed up there lineup this offseason, but that doesn’t mean it’s all beer and skittles from here on out. Leon Draisaitl has spent significant time with a a few different wing pairs this year, but who are the best?
Though the Oilers have, tentatively, turned around the bad start to the season, the lineup has been less consistent than that darn groundhog who supposedly decides when winter ends. Consistency is something the Oilers badly need.
Draisaitl had an excellent night on Sunday, October 27, which happened to be his 29th birthday, (Happy Birthday, Leon!!!) and even though he played most of the first two and a half periods with Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson, all three of Draisaitl’s points came while playing with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman. That is the line that he has spent the second most time with this season at 55.8 minutes.
Since then, and while McDavid has been away on injury, Draisaitl has looked great playing with Podkolzin and Arvidsson, the two wingers have complemented him well. McDavid’s return does present a number of options though.
The super line of McDrai
The question remains whether or not Coach Kris Knoblauch should actually put McDavid back on a line with Draisaitl and Hyman. It has, for a while now, been the Oilers best line, trotted out after a successful penalty kill or nearing the end of a game that the Oilers trail. Knoblauch also went back to it full time earlier in the season when things were looking a little more grim. Essentially every coach since McDavid’s arrival has done something similar with Draisaitl and McDavid, with the third player varying. Is it time to just face the truth and play that line full time? Let the other players figure it out themselves?
If this strikes a note of fear in your head, you aren’t the only one. It doesn’t take a tactical genius to realize that two threats are better than one. That two lesser threats are probably better than one great big threat, especially in the game of hockey where one of McDavid or Draisaitl’s lines will get to go up against a weaker line. If the Oilers truly become a one line team, what happens when they hit a slump? What happens if that slump is in the middle of playoffs?
On the other hand, as previously mentioned, the Oilers went out and picked up some pretty solid players this offseason. Just because you load up the first line doesn’t neccessarily mean the others can’t function well. What good are those players if they can’t be trusted with their own line?
There is no questioning how good they look while they’re out there and they have the stats to back it up. The Hyman, McDavid, Draisaitl line is third in Corsi % and fourth in xG% in the NHL over 35 minutes played. The Carolina Hurricanes as a team dominate these sections though given enough time the “Super Line” would likely overtake them. They are also 19th in goals%, which will also likely get better as the data grows. Realistically speaking, this is the best line in hockey.
The addition of Podkolzin
The second option is the line that Draisaitl has been playing on recently, that is Arvidsson, Draisaitl, and Podkolzin. Though it was unsure whether or not Podkolzin would actually make the team in training camp, this line looked encouraging earlier and has become downright impressive. Also, they have solid numbers to go with it, and now have the most minutes together on the team. The line is statistically just under the “Super Line” in Corsi at 63% and xG% at 58.5%. The problem here is that they are at 40% goals percentage, having had three goals scored while they are on the ice together, but only scoring two themselves (though this is a lot better than it used to be). This line is certainly trending in the right direction.
The main advantage here is that, not only are you splitting up McDavid and Draisaitl to make the lineup deeper, you are also putting what was considered a fourth line player in Podkolzin on the second line, which, if it works, gives you even more depth as a team. All of a sudden the third line has Jeff Skinner and Adam Henrique on it, and starts to look threatening in it’s own right.
Another reason I like this line is because Podkolzin is big, hard working, has something to prove, and, having been considered a skill player when he was drafted 10th overall, does have decent scoring potential. You don’t get drafted 10th overall then barely make an NHL roster without developing a sizable hunger to prove yourself. Every good line needs a player to dig in the corners and get the puck back. Draisaitl, while extremely talented in other areas, does get caught being lazy sometimes and Arvidsson is a smaller fellow so Podkolzin fits the bill.
To me, this is the best setup for Draisaitl, playing in the centre with Podkolzin and Arvidsson. Draisaitl has been playing with what many would consider lower echelon players for a very long time and every season at some point we are talking about how to maximize Draisaitl’s effectivity. Now the Oilers went out and got some proven, experienced, scorers (though a little less experience would have been nicer) so the second line has become a good mix of extreme skill and a young, hard worker in Podkolzin. If the first two lines put it together at the same time, which looks impending with McDavid’s return, both McDavid and Draisaitl will be performing to their full potential, and opponents will be chewin’ on their nails like a tough steak.
The original plan from offseason acquisitions
Originally, after the offseason acquisitions of Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, it was immediately assumed by many that they were brought aboard to help Drasaitl on the second line. While they did start the season that way, that line has been together for only 32.8 minutes so far. Obviously, putting this line together represents an effort to have two very threatening, back-to-back, knock out punches. While this is a very good idea, this line suffers from the same problem as the Podkolzin line. They have very solid underlying numbers—63.6% corsi and 64% xG—but have a 0% goals percentage, though this would obviously change if they were given more time together.
Truth be told though, this line hasn’t had enough time together to truly show what they can do. They were given an extremely short leash because the Oilers were struggling so mightily out of the gate, and the lines were shaken up extremely quickly, too quickly in my opinion.
Other options for Draisaitl
While I wouldn’t play with the first line, and Henrique needs to stay put as the third line centre, switching Skinner for Arvidsson is an option. I like Arvidsson better here though as he is younger.
Otherwise, switching Mattias Janmark or Connor Brown for Podkolzin are decent options. Again, I like Podkolzin better as he is younger. That being said, the fourth line, when comprised of Podkolzin, Derek Ryan, and Corey Perry, actually put up the best corsi% and xG% on the team, though I wouldn’t expect that to continue over a long period of time.
Again, if I’m behind the bench, I’m giving Podkolzin, Draisaitl, and Arvidsson free rein. Though I also wouldn’t mind seeing Skinner, Draisaitl, and Arvidsson be given a little more time to see if they can make it happen.
stats from NHL.com, naturalstattrick.com, and moneypuck.com
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
