EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers will be without captain Connor McDavid for three games due to suspension starting on Tuesday night when they host the league-leading Washington Capitals at Rogers Place.
Following McDavid’s three-game suspension handed down by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Monday, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will adjust his lineup and run with a centre quartet of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Adam Henrique and Noah Philp against the Capitals, while saying he expects the lines to be mixed up throughout tonight’s contest.
Knoblauch didn’t say who’d be on the top line with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to start while mentioning that not only is it a potential opportunity for winger Jeff Skinner to get some top-six minutes, but for every forward to try and make up for the absence of McDavid for the next three matches.
“It’s an opportunity for everybody,” Knoblauch said. “Jeff definitely will get some opportunities to play more minutes than he has and move up in the lineup a little bit, but we’re gonna need everyone stepping up a little bit more. Just with the absence of Connor, obviously, that’s a huge void, but we’re going to have to do it by community.”
Leon Draisaitl always raises his game with McDavid out of the lineup and says the absence of their captain will galvanize the group toward raising their game.
“I think these situations create a lot of excitement for other guys, too,” Draisaitl said. “Because you know you’re gonna have to rely on other guys a little bit more than maybe you usually do, and I think that that creates certain excitement for those individuals. Obviously, Connor takes on a lot of the offence for us or in general with his all-around game, but it’s a great opportunity for other guys.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
