EDMONTON — Shaken, not stirred.
This may be how the fictional James Bond likes his martinis, but it’s also a head coach’s go-to move when a team needs to break out of a funk.
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch appears to be employing this technique at the morning skate ahead of tonight’s game against the New York Rangers.
At the top of the lineup, newcomer Kasperi Kapanen has been elevated to the top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Knoblauch spoke highly of Kapanen after the last game, singling out his ability to draw penalties.
“I thought he did good, he drew two penalties,” Kris Knoblauch on Kasperi Kapanen’s first game in an Oilers uniform. #LetsGoOilers
— Caleb Kerney (@CKerneyWriter) November 22, 2024
Leon Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin, and Connor Brown will be the team’s second line. Jeff Skinner is again bumped down, this time onto the third line with fellow veterans Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark. Drake Caggiula, Derek Ryan, and Corey Perry will be the team’s fourth forward line.
Kapanen was claimed from waivers for his speed, ability to provide secondary scoring, and prowess on the penalty kill. On Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the 6-foot-1 forward drew two penalties and played 12:10 when the final buzzer blew.
The @EdmontonOilers morning skate:
RNH-McDavid-Kapanen
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Brown
Skinner-Henrique-Janmark
Caggiula-Ryan-PerryBouchard not on ice
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) November 23, 2024
In 11 games this season, he has only mustered one goal. He has only scored 20 goals or more once in his career, during the 2018-19 season. Kapanen averaged 16:37 per game that season and played 75 percent of his ice time with Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, and Andreas Johnsson.
Oilers fans can tune into tonight’s game at 8:00 P.M. to see if these changes will pay off.
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