The Edmonton Oilers have hit a big time slump and there is a little bit of panic starting to set in among long time fans of the franchise who have too often seen a few loses string together to create a big time collapse for this team in the past.
Now for the record I do think it is a little bit too early for the Oilers or for their fans to start to panic, but I certainly can not blame those who are a little concerned. It seems the Oilers themselves may realize that there are some concerns to be had here as now head coach Dave Tippett is once again making some big changes to his line up moving forward. The Oilers top line of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have once again been split up as it seems the Oilers are realizing that having a team that is only 1 line deep is not going to be a viable strategy for them in the long term. Sure the Oilers can trot out one of the best duos in hockey on a nightly basis, but their lack of depth was telling over the weekend when they faced a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs with a very deep forward group.
Here is a look at the changes that Dave Tippett made today as per Oilers insider Bob Stauffer.
Forwards:
Nygard-McDavid-Kassian
Neal-Draisaitl-Gagner
Khaira-RNH-Chiasson
Haas-Sheahan-Archibald
Granlund-P Russell
Defensemen:
Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Bear
Russell-Jones
Manning
Goaltending:
Koskinen
Smith
