Oilers Debut Surprising New Lineup At Practice

Kris Knoblauch must have gotten a new blender for Christmas.

On the heels of a New Year's Eve victory in which he made several big lineup changes, Knoblauch shuffled his forwards around again at this morning's practice.

The top six stays unchanged from the end of their win over Utah, with Connor Brown joining Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the top line after they combined for two goals on New Year's Eve. Viktor Arvidsson returns to his spot on the second line after having fully recovered from the injury that kept him out for most of November and December.

The bottom six is where things get wacky.

Zach Hyman remains on the third line, where he finished the last game. This deployment is less of a demotion for Hyman than a shot in the arm for a third line that's struggled all season long. Clearly the hope is that he'll be able to drive his own line in easier minutes.

He's joined by Mattias Janmark, who moves from fourth-line winger to third-line centre. Along with Kasperi Kapanen, this gives the Oilers a hard-working, tenacious third line that can put pressure on their opponents when the superstars aren't on the ice.

The fourth line features a couple of underperforming veterans, Jeff Skinner and Adam Henrique. Skinner has been in the doghouse seemingly all season, forced down to the bottom of the lineup by poor production and his characteristic lack of physicality or defence. Meanwhile, Henrique has looked out of his depth as a third-line centre, with an expected goals share of just 42%.

With Skinner being a poor fit in the bottom six and Henrique's recent struggles, it's hard to see this fourth line getting much ice time if they do in fact deploy this lineup in a game.

There's a chance none of this means anything. It wouldn't be the first time Knoblauch has teased a lineup change at practice that never made it into a game -- he's already done it with his powerplay units and defence pairings this season.

But given that these are adjusted versions of the lines we saw on New Year's Eve, I'd bet that this is how the Oilers look on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks. If they don't work as desired, it might be time for the Oilers to go shopping.

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