Maroon moving on up to Oilers’ first line
McLellan shuffles the forward mix ahead of game against Islanders
If you can’t beat ’em, disjoin ’em.
After three straight losses in which his top line generated virtually nothing — and technically less than that in a minus-3 performance against the New York Rangers Thursday — Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan is breaking it up.
He promoted Patrick Maroon to the first line with Connor McDavid and Jordan Eberle and had Milan Lucic skating with Leon Draisaitl and Zack Kassian.
“Connor’s line is in on a lot of offensive chances, but they’ve been giving up a lot,” McLellan said after practice Friday at Chelsea Piers ahead of today’s game against the New York Islanders. “And the other two lines need to find a way to score a little more and take the pressure off the goaltender and the back end.”
The coaching staff was hesitant to break up the Lucic-McDavidEberle trio, considered the crown jewel of the new-look Oilers. And after they combined for 25 points in a 7-1 start, there was no need to even consider it.
But with their slump combining with the team’s slump, McLellan decided to pull the trigger.
“We have to reward them for the work they’ve done,” he said. “But lately, we haven’t won games that we think we had a chance to win. Each of the three nights in which we gave up five of six points, we were right there and we have to find a way to get over the top.
“How long do you go with the reward system before you have to try to tweak things? At some point, we have to discover what happens with different linemates. I’ll feel very comfortable going back to it if we have to, but teams need this — you get a little bit stale at times.”
Maroon is the obvious choice to move up given he’s coming off a strong game against the Rangers (a goal and plus-1 with a team-high three hits) and meshed well with McDavid in the past.
“Maroon played very well with Connor at the end of last season, so maybe that combination clicks a little better than what we’ve had the last couple of games,” said McLellan.
The big winger understands Edmonton needs to stop the bleeding immediately. A three-game losing streak heading into back-to-back road games (Islanders and Detroit) is not a good place to be. A couple of wrong moves and their 7-1 start could melt into 7-5-1 and a fivegame losing streak heading into Pittsburgh.
“Hopefully, we can get a little bit of a spark underneath us,” said Maroon. “This is a quick turnaround. We need to find ways to win hockey games. We’re on the road and this is where good teams find ways to win.
“It’s a hard schedule coming up, we’re playing good teams, but if we play like we did (against the Rangers) and just minimize our mistakes, I think we’ll be OK.”
McLellan quickly dismissed the notion this represents a demotion for Lucic a month into his sevenyear contract.
“It’s an opportunity to play with one of the top centres in the league,” he said. “He went from one to another. Leon had a good chemistry with him in the Ottawa game. When we changed things up, they were a catalyst, they got us going.
“Demotion, promotion? I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as what the team needs.”
It’s all part of a shuffle that includes promoting rookie Jesse Puljujarvi to the second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Benoit Pouliot. Puljujarvi is getting better by the game and will play his 10th with a strong vote of confidence.
“Most of our decisions are based on eyeball evidence, watching the games,” said McLellan. “And the more we watch him, the more he’s involved in the offence. “He’s creating as many chances and opportunities for himself or his teammates as anybody else on the team.
“He looks and feels more confident, stronger night in and night out. So why not give him more ice time? An opportunity?
“If he makes good on it, we’ll slowly work him in further up the ladder.”
As for the defence, McLellan is pretty much leaving it alone, sub- bing in Eric Gryba for Matt Benning.
“The seven of them have done quite a good job for the most part. We’ve made a lot of progress in that area. It’s up front where we’ve been hit and miss with different lines on different nights.”
The Palindrome Line (51-55-15) remains intact with Tyler Pitlick, Mark Letestu and Anton Lander.
“Perhaps our most consistent threesome has been our fourth line,” said McLellan. “They give us a good game every night in the minutes they’re given.”