Oilers promote top young forward and immediately get a big reward
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
The Edmonton Oilers temporarily moved up Ike Howard to the first line, and he was immediately rewarded with his first NHL goal.
Oilers coach Knoblauch has been facing some criticism for scratching and benching Howard, along with a few other rookies. In the very little chance Howard got tonight, he made the most of it.
Ike Howard gets moved to Oilers first line and scores first NHL goal vs Ottawa Senators
To begin the second period, Ike Howard was moved up to the biggest assignment of playing alongside McDavid and Draisaitl.
Next to the two superstars, Howard was able to quickly find open ice in the slot, take a pass from Draisaitl, and show off his natural goal scoring talent with a snap shot.
Despite the promotion to the top line, Howard still didn't get much ice time tonight - he only saw 10:42 of ice time, down from the previous game with 12:00.
Howard will likely be sent down to the AHL as the Oilers lineup gets healthier, but it should be the best for his development. In the meantime though, Coach Knoblauch didn't put Howard in the best position to succeed.
Howard is a raw skill player that would benefit from playing with other skill players, and should see more time in the top six to unlock this shooting talent - even if it's still sheltered minutes. He can be more effective firing pucks off Draisaitl passes instead of a 4th line center.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the Oilers using their rookies in more aggressive deployments. We'll see how Coach Knoblauch starts to change his approach.
