Oilers Coach Knoblauch Explains Decision to Reunite McDavid and Draisaitl Early This Year
The Edmonton Oilers are heading into their fourth game of the regular season tonight, and already going to the superline to get them out of a losing streak.
At practice today, Coach Knoblauch reunited Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the top line. It's a tactic Oilers fans have seen for a long time, and they know that it makes the first line unbeatable, while weakening the rest of the group. Still, McDavid and Draisaitl together can combine for enough offence to win a game alone.
The Oilers head coach didn't admit that he's going for more offence tonight to get a win though. Knoblauch said that reuniting McDavid and Draisaitl is more about getting their skilled players into a rhythm to get the scoring started.
The Philadelphia Flyers are a rebuilding team, and it presents another great opportunity for the Oilers to get their offence going and get their first win of the season. McDavid has only two assists on the year, and Leon Draisaitl has only one goal. Getting their superstar players back on pace to score over 100 points is key to the Oilers success, and Knoblauch is trying to give them a jump start.
Some Oilers analysts have suggested that the team's laid back approach in preseason may have set them back in training compared to other teams, and that could be an explanation for their slow start. McDavid even said that he wanted to take it easier while training to prepare for this year, but then dialled up late in training camp. Well, three games into the regular season and still without a win, now is the time for the Oilers stars to wake up for the year.
| POLL | ||
Do you agree that reuniting McDavid and Draisaitl will jump start the offence? | ||
| Yes, like the line changes | 83 | 68 % |
| No, they should be separate | 36 | 29.5 % |
| See results | 3 | 2.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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