Oilers reveal new lines with major defence shakeup for tonight's game vs. Utah Mammoth
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The Edmonton Oilers are on the ice for practice ahead of their game against the Utah Mammoth making major changes to their defence pairings.
The Oilers defence entered the season as one of the strongest on paper, but it hasn't quite lived up to their hopes. Mattias Ekholm looks a step behind, Evan Bouchard hasn't been at his best, and Darnell Nurse has been severely struggling.
Edmonton Oilers make adjustments to defence pairings in new lineups
According to reporters at Oilers practice, the team will lineup as follows against the Mammoth tonight:
The forward lines also have seen some more changes, but might be settling into more solid combinations now.
Nugent-Hopkins and Mangiapane will stay up with McDavid on the first line. Leon Draisaitl's second line with Podkolzin and Roslovic has developed some chemistry. Matt Savoie and Trent Frederic earned a bump up to the third line.
However, the big changes for the Oilers are clearly on defence. Their usually-steady pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard has been broken up.
While the decision to split up the defence was understandable, moving Darnell Nurse to the top pairing might be a frightening experiment for the Oilers given his early season results. Bumping up Walman over Nurse is probably the better option.
Additionally, the Oilers may finally see the return of Alec Regula to their lineup tonight with 11 forwards and 7 defenceman. That will likely be a game time decision.
The Oilers will be taking on a very hot Utah Mammoth team, a young group that's begun to click offensively and has taken off on a scorching 7 game win streak. With the Oilers sputtering defence and goaltending, tonight's game could be a challenge.
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