Oilers Coach Demotes Zach Hyman, Shakes Up Lineup at Practice

Coach Knoblauch experimented with some line changes during the Oilers last game against Utah, at times featuring Brown on the first line.

The real change seems to just be swapping Zach Hyman and Connor Brown. The Oilers coach might think Hyman can bring more finishing talent to the third line, and Brown's speed and recent good play can be used on the top line. This could give the team 3 balanced combinations.

Hyman picked up his scoring in December after a slow start to the season, but was slowed down again after breaking his nose. He played just 16:35 of ice time in the Oilers last game, his lowest since returning from injury.

It may just be a temporary move to bump Hyman down and capitalize on the recent surge from Connor Brown, or it could be a method for Knoblauch to get three balanced lines. The telling sign will be if Hyman's ice time stays lower as it was against Utah.

At the end of the day, this could just be Coach Knoblauch continuing to experiment and find possible line combinations that can work later in the season and in the playoffs.

Connor Brown's playing well and deserves an increase of ice time, so why not reward him while sliding down a trusted vet like Hyman?

It may not even be viewed as a demotion, just the Oilers coach tweaking the lines with a litany of talented players. Still, we'll see in the Oilers next game how Knoblauch envisions these lines playing out.

More details and analysis to come.