Oilers coach benched an entire line in loss vs. Minnesota Wild

Newcomer Connor Clattenburg was the most affected by the coach's line deployments, finishing the game with a TOI of 4:41.

His linemates Curtis Lazar and Trent Frederic also played short-minutes, 8:45 and 8:30 respectively.

This strategy to primarily run the game with the team's top lines, though somewhat understandable in this game, has been at times questionable, with the inevitable consequence of overplaying your top players, as has been reported several times this season.

Coach Kris Knoblauch has limited the ice time of the Edmonton Oilers' third and fourth lines, due primarily to performance issues and a lack of chemistry from the bottom-6 forwards.

Yet, though not known for his offense, Clattenburg has been reliable defensively during his stint with the big club and has brought a much-needed spark to the games he's played.

To use him for only 4:41 is almost an injustice, when you consider that the coach played Mattias Janmark 14:43 of TOI against the Wild, during which he was ineffective.

Of course, it's easy to second guess a coach on his in-game adjustments, but the eye-test counts for something, and Janmark did not deserve to play three times what Clattenburg did, when you're trying to score goals.

It is true that the Oilers are more successful when their star players Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are on the ice, which leads to a natural inclination to play them more minutes.

The team has been outscored significantly when their top centers are on the bench, but nor are McDavid and Draisaitl scoring at their usual pace, with a goal share of only 50% this year.

Yet, to punish players that are working hard and rewarding those that aren't, sends the wrong kind of message to the bench.

Then again, it's only my opinion