Yahoo Sports New Oilers Defense Pairing To Watch For
EDMONTON -- Change can last a long time.
It can also last the blink of an eye.
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch must have had a smoothie for breakfast because the blender was out today at the team's morning practice.
The Oilers held another practice session on Wednesday morning, fresh off their win against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night. However, two notable players were absent from the on-ice session.
Mattias Ekholm and Kasperi Kapanen were not on the ice for practice. Now, here is where the blender comes in.
Knoblauch had some interesting pairings. Darnell Nurse and Troy Stecher took drills together, which has been typical for the Oilers over recent history. However, this pairing is often abandoned as the games progress, resulting in Stecher seeing his ice time go down while Nurse gets paired up with other players.
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Brett Kulak skating with Ty Emberson is another familiar duo for Oilers fans. These two have been a rock-solid third-pairing for the team. But, as previously stated, Nurse and Stecher are often broken up during a game. When that happens, Kulak slides up to Nurse's pairing while Stecher plays with Emberson.
This leads us to the juicy pairing - newcomer John Klingberg with Evan Bouchard. Elite puck mover with elite puck mover.
The @EdmontonOilers at practice:
RNH-McDavid-Brown
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
J.Skinner-Henrique-Hyman
Janmark-Philp-Perry
Nurse-Stecher
Klingberg-Bouchard
Kulak-Emberson
Skinner
Pickard
Ekholm and Kapanen not on the ice— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) January 29, 2025
It's the time of year when sickness can swiftly and harshly run through a locker room. That could be what is happening with the Oilers right now. It could also be some other bumps and bruises that require the player to have a maintenance day.
Either way, don't bet on this change lasting long.
If you blink long enough, you are sure to miss it.
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