Without their captain and best player, the Edmonton Oilers need more from their top players still in the lineup.
The Edmonton Oilers haven't started the season the way they hoped. Coming off a difficult defeat in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Oilers entered the 2024-2025 campaign as a consensus favorite to finish their story as champions. Through their first 10 games, the Oilers areand his team came away lucky, with his ankle injury not being as severe as some feared. Still, the struggling Oilers are in a difficult spot without the world's best in their lineup for the next 10 or so games.
Without McDavid available, Oilers' head coach Kris Knoblauch discussed what this situation means for his players. What he emphasized to the media was the opportunity this provides for the rest of the lineup. He called on his top players to shoulder the burden, but also made it clear that this is a huge chance for the bottom of the lineup to make a bigger impact.
"When you're missing someone who's playing about 22 minutes a night," he said. "There's a lot more rhythm & flow for those 3rd & 4th line players." That puts the onus on players like Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, and Corey Perry to come through in a big way for the Oilers. None of those players currently has more than two points in their first 10 games, and that has to change. Without McDavid available on the power play, it gives Perry and Henrique even more time to get their offensive production going.
Perhaps with more ice-time and a larger responsibility for each of those players, it can unlock some more scoring. The Oilers are depending on it to help keep their season and pursuit of the Pacific Division afloat.
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