Oilers Kris Knoblauch Says He's Hesitant To Really Shake Up the Oilers Star Players

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Ryan Hall
October 21, 2024 (9:40 PM)

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Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke to reporters during practice and explained how he's hesitant to change the power play as it has struggled recently.

Knoblauch explained that assistant coach Glenn Gulutzan who runs the Oilers power play has shown time and time again that it remains at the top of the NHL even though they have wanted to change it over the years.

No, it's not locked in, but I talked to Glenn about it. Glenn has been here for a
while, seen some ups and down on the powerplay. Mostly a lot of ups. He said every year there's been talk about changing that powerplay, and every year they're at the top in the league. So, let's just be cautious about changing things.

During last year's Stanley Cup run, the oilers were number one in their power play and their penalty kill which helped them prevail up until Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. This season has begun similar to last season which has been a slow start with the Oilers getting behind in games and unable to take leads.

Through six games played, the Oilers are currently running a power play of 6.7% and is 1 for 15 which puts them at 30th overall in the NHL. This number is unacceptable and will not allow a team to succeed as the team sits at 2-4-0 with a winning percentage of .333.

With no sense of panic the team still under 10 games played, there's still plenty of time for this team to sort out it's power play and become the dominant force it was as many of the key players who made it strong are still with the team.

The Oilers next game will be at Rogers place with the Carolina Hurricanes coming into town. Game time will be on October 22nd and 9:00 PM eastern.