Edmonton Oilers Shake Things Up After Disastrous Start to the Season
Photo credit: HTR
After a shaky start to the season, the Edmonton Oilers finally secured their first victory, and now they have made roster changes ahead of their first road game.
Many people thought the Edmonton Oilers would start 2024-25 strong after making it to the Stanley Cup Finals the previous season, but that hasn't exactly happened as the team lost their opening three games before defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime. Now, head coach Kris Knoblauch is making roster changes in preparation for their season's first road game against the Nashville Predators.
In addition to being the second consecutive game that Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid play together, the team will be resting Stuart Skinner by starting Calvin Pickard in goal. Skinner has a 5.40 GAA and a .845 save percentage through three games this season, but the team is confident he will recover from similar setbacks a year ago.
"We've changed up the lines quite a bit through the start of the season and it's something I don't like doing, and there are times that you want to match up - whether it's changing up lines, your team's not playing very well or whatever the opposition is trying to do - but we've done enough and we're just trying to build off that victory from the other night," Knoblauch said.
The Oilers have one of the worst bottom two defense pairings in the NHL, which is obviously having an impact on their goaltending. Pickard has made two appearances this season, recording a 4.17 GAA and a .718 save percentage. Edmonton is fortunate to face the winless Nashville Predators, but they will need to perform well in goal against one of the NHL's most loaded forward groups.
Superstar Connor McDavid is still looking for his first goal of the season, after a rough start. Admittedly, he shared that he was also part of the overall problems.
"Ultimately it hasn't been good enough, I've said that numerous times. Up & down the lineup, myself first & foremost, everyone can be better & everyone will be better."
The NHL would have anticipated this to be a high-profile matchup early in the season, and even though both teams are having trouble, there are superstars everywhere, so expect this to be an exciting matchup between two teams that are desperate to get back on track after extremely bad starts.
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