Oilers Unveil New Lines at First Practice Without Connor McDavid

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Liam McCormick
October 30, 2024 (12:08)

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The Edmonton Oilers hit the ice today for practice in Nashville, looking like a much different team without their Captain Connor McDavid.

The Oilers announced today that McDavid will miss two to three weeks with an ankle injury, and without him available, Jeff Skinner is the forward being called up from the third line to the top-six.

According to Tony Brar, the Oilers will be running with Podkolzin, Draisaitl, and Arvidsson as their first line. Jeff Skinner and Zach Hyman will play wing for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the second line. Noah Philp will make his NHL debut against Nashville playing as the fourth line centreman between Derek Ryan and Corey Perry.

Additionally, Coach Knoblauch seems to be loading up the first powerplay unit without McDavid. Just in the few games before his injury, the Oilers had begun to experiment with two powerplay units for the first time in years. There still is a decent second unit available that features Arvidsson and Skinner, but they may not get so much ice time in comparison to the first unit.

Calvin Pickard will be the starting goaltender for the Oilers against the Predators as well. Stuart Skinner had another tough night in Columbus, allowing 6 goals with a save percentage of .760. Pickard is noticeably starting more games now as Skinner's slow start to the season seems to be continuing.

Without Connor McDavid, the entire Oilers roster is going to need to come together to play their best possible game. The next three weeks will see some games against contending teams, and the Oilers need to be able to keep themselves afloat in the standings after their rough start. All eyes will be on Edmonton to survive through this three week stretch.