Oilers healthy scratching young forward after benching, announce lines vs. Devils

In the Oilers last game against the New York Islanders, Coach Knoblauch made the controversial choice to drop rookies Matt Savoie and Ike Howard to the 4th line. In tight-game situations, Howard hasn't played much minutes at all.

Speaking to the media before today's game, Knoblauch confirmed that Howard will be scratched, and Curtis Lazar will take his place. Calvin Pickard will get the start in net for the first half of back-to-back games. Jake Walman is still not cleared for return.

Assuming the Oilers run the same lineup as their last game, Lazar will take over Howard's left wing spot, and Savoie will remain on the 4th line.

UPDATE: The Oilers will make more adjustments to their lineup, with Nugent-Hopkins moving to the 1st line, Podkolzin and Draisaitl reunited, and Savoie moved up to the 3rd line.

The Edmonton Oilers traded for Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning amid reports that the young forward was looking for a path to NHL minutes. However, he hasn't really been given an opportunity this year.

Howard played just 8:19 of ice time against the Islanders, and all with depth linemates. He's an offensive player that needs more complimentary skill and ice time to thrive, but he's not getting it so far. For his development, healthy scratches are the worst outcome.

Although he's shown signs of improvement each game, it's clear Howard isn't a fully developed NHLer yet. He would certainly benefit from some time in the AHL, where he'll also at least get more than 8 minutes a night.

Now that the Oilers are adding some injured players back to their lineup, Howard should be sent down to the AHL in the coming days.