The Edmonton Oilers will aim to be more adaptable as they head out on a five-game road trip.
After beating the Vegas Golden Knights 8-2 on Tuesday, the Oilers were bogged down in a 4-1 loss to St. Louis on Thursday. The fancy, east-west plays that were available against Vegas were sealed off against the tight-checking Blues.
“I think at times it’s being stubborn. At times you have to take what’s there. We have very talented players on our team who can create time and space for each other and make plays at the blue line. But that doesn’t happen 100 per cent of the time,” said head coach Todd McLellan, who noted that the Blues did a good job of checking and closing off passing lanes. “We were stubborn. We want to throw pucks into those areas.”
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The Oilers continue to be one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, sitting 29th in the league in goals-for per-game going into Friday’s action. With top line stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl going through a quiet spell five-on-five, McLellan was asked about shuffling the lines. However, he wasn’t tipping his hand.
“Possibly. There’s a chance we could do that,” said McLellan.
McDavid and Oscar Klefbom missed Friday’s practice at Rogers Place. McLellan said they’re both under the weather and should be good to play in Dallas on Saturday.
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Catch the Oilers and Stars on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 10:30 a.m Saturday. The game starts at noon.