After a 3-6-1 start, there was a noticeable shakeup to the Edmonton Oilers lineup at practice on Monday.
Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson were no longer a defensive pair. Instead, Klefbom was with Matt Benning while Larsson skated with Darnell Nurse.
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The Oilers have been much too loose defensively with Klefbom looking very little like the stalwart he was last season. After going -4 against Washington on Saturday, Klefbom is a team-worst -6 on the season.
“It’s tough. If you’re out there and you make one mistake, you start to think what you could have done better,” he said. “It’s turning into bad momentum. I have to be better for sure.”
“Not feeling good about your game comes from making the wrong reads. It goes together — confidence and play,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “In my opinion, Klef is a little indecisive right now.”
McLellan also rolled out new power play units on Monday, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl no longer on the same unit.
“They both are capable of quarterbacking a power play unit,” said McLellan, who said McDavid and Draisaitl tend to look for each other a lot when they’re on the ice together. “This way, they get their own unit. It’s going to create a competitive environment between the two units.”
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The Oilers power play is 29th in the NHL at 12.1 per cent.
The Oilers will host the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
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