Insider reveals Oilers coach frustrated with specific group of players after Game 1
Photo credit: Edmonton Oilers Raw
If the Edmonton Oilers are going to go on another deep playoff run, they'll need their depth players to step up far more than they did in Game 1 - which frustrated Coach Knoblauch.
The Oilers have already made some major lineup changes for Game 2, including uniting McDavid and Draisaitl - a real sign Knoblauch wasn't happy with the rest of the group.
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman believes Oilers coach was frustrated with depth players in Game 1
On the most recent edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Knoblauch was frustrated with the depth players after the team explicitly made efforts to get them ready to pull their weight.
I think the whole message was when the playoffs start, you can grab your role and you can make an impact. I think that's what Knoblauch was trying to do. And then there were a lot of guys who really struggled, and eventually he had to turn it over to the nuclear weapons, and they almost stole that game.
But you could tell, if you watched Knoblauch in the postgame, he was really frustrated with the performances of some of the support players.
- Elliotte Friedman
But you could tell, if you watched Knoblauch in the postgame, he was really frustrated with the performances of some of the support players.
- Elliotte Friedman
In today's lineup, three support players in particular took harsh demotions. Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson were bumped down to the 4th line, while Jeff Skinner was named a healthy scratch.
The Oilers have the two best players in the world who can keep them in any game, but they need every player to be dialled in to win 4 rounds of the playoffs.
Knoblauch is making the gutsy call to change up the likes quickly, hopefully sending a shockwave through the bottom six that gets more out of the bottom of their lineup.
A split tonight in Los Angeles will be crucial for the Oilers to give them the best chance at coming back to win this series.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 23 | 693 ANSWERS Insider reveals Oilers coach frustrated with specific group of players after Game 1 Do you think the Oilers depth players needed to be better? | ||
| Yes | 658 | 94.9 % |
| No | 35 | 5.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
