Woodcroft juggles line combinations for Game 5
Puljujarvi placed with Nugent-hopkins in effort to add offensive punch to third line
You lose, you don't snooze.
So, Edmonton Oilers coach
Jay Woodcroft was busy making moves at forward for Game 5 after the Game 4 setback in Los Angeles, tweaking all four lines before the pivotal game against the Kings.
Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Mcleod and Derek Ryan found themselves on different lines to start the game at Rogers Place. Puljujarvi, who has been with Connor Mcdavid on the top line or with Leon Draisaitl on the second for most of the season, was at right wing with third-line centre Ryan Nugent-hopkins. Not a demotion as much as giving Nugent-hopkins some offensive juice after Nugent-hopkins played with Josh Archibald and Derick Brassard in Game 4.
Yamamoto, a smaller version of Puljujarvi in terms of digging pucks out and keeping plays alive, took over at right wing with Mcdavid. Mcleod and his speed went from fourth-line centre to Draisaitl's left wing on the second line. Ryan, who missed Game 4 after a hard collision with Andreas Athanasiou late in Game 3, took Mcleod's spot as fourth-line centre after lots of time as right winger with Nugent-hopkins to help with faceoff duties.
“Sometimes when you don't play the way you want, you shuffle the deck chairs. That's what we did today,” said Woodcroft after the morning skate.
“The line with Yamamoto (Mcdavid and Kane) has been together on numerous occasions and they've had some chemistry.”
So not a cross-your-fingers, bunson burner experiment.
Game planning of lines or moving players is part of the playoffs, of course. Woodcroft, who is going up against his mentor Todd Mclellan on the L.A. bench, says it's not about trying to outsmart anybody in the chess game, though.
“It's a game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. It's not a game between the two coaches. I have experience with Todd (assistant coach in San Jose and here) and Todd has experience with me. But it's L.A. and Edmonton,” he said.
WELCOME BACK
Defenceman Ladislav Smid, who wore No. 5 here for seven seasons (474 games after he came from Anaheim with Joffrey Lupul in the 2006 Chris Pronger trade), was signing autographs at Ford Hall before the game. He still spends time here in the summer.
Smid, traded to Calgary for goalie Laurent Brossoit in November 2013, had neck issues in his latter days with the Oilers. He missed the 2016-17 season with his neck problem, left the NHL and went back to the Czech Republic to play for his old club in Liberec. He just retired at 36 after a playoff loss in Liberec, playing 41 minutes of a long playoff loss to Sparta Praha.
“Sometimes I thought I'd add another season but then I remember my kids in Canada. I see the videos and miss them. They are already seven. They perceive the world a little differently. They need dad by their side,” Smid told a Czech media site.
Smid, who played 583 NHL games, would be valuable as an amateur/pro scout in Europe for an NHL team, but he says he would rather be on the ice.
“I would like to get involved in skill coaching or something similar to make my life a little more varied.”
Luke Gazdic, another ex-oiler who has done in-season TV commentary work from a Toronto studio with Gene Principe, was shown playfully chugging beers in a Rogers Place suite after he signed autographs when the series opened here.
THIS 'N' THAT
Forward Devin Shore only got into four games in April — he did score the shootout winner in Game 82 against Vancouver with a nifty play on Spencer Martin — and hasn't played a single playoff game. He hasn't moved the dial enough with Woodcroft ... Same goes for trade pickup Brassard, who was scratched for the fourth time in the series ... Former Oilers winger Andreas Athanasiou, a victim of Zach Hyman doggedness in Game 3 as the Oilers forward got past him to score on Jonathan Quick, sat for the second straight L.A. game ... The Oilers weren't interested in the draft lottery Tuesday, picking 22nd at the July draft. They'll be looking at forwards in that range. One name to consider is winger Liam Ohgren, playing in Sweden ... Interesting that Woodcroft has taken to calling losses “nonwins” when meeting the media. Keeping it a little bit positive ... Principe, who missed the two games in L.A. as broadcast host because of close contact with a person who had COVID-19, was back at work for Game 5.