Yahoo Sports 2 Oilers With Big Decline In Playing Time
EDMONTON -- Change leads to more change.
Professional hockey players deal with change all of the time. Last year, the Edmonton Oilers dealt with a new coaching duo in Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey. They came in and replaced Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson after a rocky start to the year.
But change doesn't stop there.
Knoblauch has been tinkering with the lineups quite a bit. Seemingly, more than last year. In last night's game, two players got the short end of the hockey stick because of it.
Troy Stecher and Josh Brown saw a big dip in ice time against the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers took home a massive two points last night with a 1-0 decision over the Kings. Connor McDavid scored the only goal on the back of an incredible shift from Leon Draisaitl.
Changes. Skinner in goal and Josh Brown in for Derek Ryan. Oilers will go 11-7
RNH - McDavid - Hyman
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Arvidsson
Janmark - Henrique - Brown
Perry - - Kapanen
Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Stecher
Kulak - Emberson
J. Brown
Skinner— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) January 13, 2025
Before the game, it was revealed that Derek Ryan would be out for the matchup. As a result, Jeff Skinner remained a healthy scratch, and they ran an 11-forward and seven-defender formation.
For last night's game, Darnell Nurse played with Stecher and Brown. Stecher finished the night with 6:54 of ice time, while Brown played 6:23.
According to Dobber's Frozen Pool, Nurse played 5:55 of even-strength with Stecher and 4:24 with Brown. However, that only accounts for about 10 of Nurse's 22:41 that he finished the night with.
Nurse also played one minute on each special teams unit. So, in 10 minutes of the game, Nurse rotated with several other defenders on the Oilers.
This is the biggest problem with running an 11-7 formation. Often, one player gets the extremely short end of the stick. In this case, two players were shorted.
Stecher has averaged 14:05 across all 37 games he has played this season. Conversely, Brown has only played six games but still averages more than he did last night (10:49).
This roster's construction makes it impossible for them to handle this formation, especially on defense. The best way forward is to use the standard 12-6 rotation and include Skinner. In other words, more change is needed.
And change, like time, can never be stopped.
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