Oilers' Kris Knoblauch Works Line Blender Magic

finn marceau

Wed, Jan 1, 2025, 8:00 a.m.·3 min read

A little change is always a good thing.

It certainly was for the Oilers last night. Coming off two losses over the weekend, head coach Kris Knoblauch made significant changes to the forward lines for the first time in weeks before their New Year's Eve game against Utah Hockey Club. While the original lines didn't stick, his second solution did the trick as the new lines sparked them to a 4-1 win to close out 2024.

First-period lines:
Hyman-McDavid-Brown
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Janmark-RNH-Kapanen
Skinner-Henrique-Perry

Second-period lines:
RNH-McDavid-Brown
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Skinner-Henrique-Hyman
Perry-Janmark-Kapanen
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) January 1, 2025

The biggest beneficiary of the shuffle was Connor Brown. Rewarded for his strong play with a spot next to Connor McDavid on the top line, he parlayed that into a two-assist game and a team-leading 89% expected goals share.

The goals came in bunches on Tuesday night. Mattias Ekholm got the party started early for the Oilers, capping off a long shift in the offensive zone with a wrister past Utah's Jaxson Stauber to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

It took Utah just a minute and a half to respond. Edmonton native and former Oil King Dylan Guenther got one over on his hometown team, finding Jack McBain on the rush with a perfect backhand pass that McBain buried to tie the game back up at one.

EDM UTA G37. December 31, 2024. Jack McBain goal. 1-1 UTA. 🎥: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/C5CNZCgHnd
— Nation Network Media (@NationNMedia) January 1, 2025

It was Brown and the first line's turn in the second period. First, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins forced a turnover in Utah's zone, which Brown turned into a tic-tac-toe that was finished off by Nugent-Hopkins to take back the lead for the Oilers.

They were back at it again just twenty seconds later when Brown found Troy Stecher off a McDavid zone entry, and Stecher's shot deflected off a Utah defender and into the back of the net for a 3-1 Oilers lead.

20 seconds later, Troy Stecher makes it 3-1 Oilers 🫨

📺: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/vEyVqsesRz
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 1, 2025

It was smooth sailing from there on out, as Leon Draisaitl extended his goal-scoring lead with an empty netter in the third to close out a 4-1 win and send Oilers fans onto their New Year's festivities in a good mood.

Play of the Game

McDavid finds the Nuge for the backdoor finish 🛢️ pic.twitter.com/hCj8HUWZbw
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 1, 2025

On top of Brown's performance on the top line, Tuesday night was also Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' best game of the season. Centering the third line to start the game, Nugent-Hopkins responded well to being put back in his usual spot on McDavid's wing. If Nuge is waking up, the Oilers might have just gained another huge offensive weapon in their already fearsome arsenal.

That closes the book on 2024. The Oilers went 52-24-8, tied with the Florida Panthers for the third-most points in the NHL during the calendar year. If their play over the past six weeks is any indication, they should be right up there again in 2025.

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