Could Oilers Unexpected 2nd Line Be Key to Season Success?

As fans prepared to watch the Edmonton Oilers face off against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, if they had placed bets on any line apart from Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evander Kane to dominate, they would have found themselves pleasantly surprised and a whole lot richer. A major underdog to steal the show, it was Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Warren Foegele who were crowned Edmonton’s best trio and all showcased an unexpected and impressive performance.

It’s not that any of the three are bad players. But, to expect they would dominate the offensive zone the way they did and find magic without the league’s two best players on their line was an unexpected surprise.

Yes, McDavid has a “wow” goal and Draisaitl continued to put up points against the Preds, but it was Nuge, Hyman, and Foegele that got a lot of the attention, even from Draisaitl, who called them the best line for the team in a 6-1 win.

Head coach Jay Woodcroft said of their performance:

“They went to hard areas to find success against a really, really top goaltender in the National Hockey League in Juuse Saros. To be able to do that, assert your game right in the first period, I think it started with that line pacing us. Warren should feel real good about his game. He’s been good since day one of training camp, and he’s carried it over to a good start to his regular season.”

Nugent-Hopkins is off to another quiet, but deadly start this season. Perhaps the most lethal 104 points that nobody talked about last year, expectations were that he would take a step back this season. With 6 points in three games, he’s on pace to outproduce last year’s career high. Hyman needed to get going a bit, and he did with a goal and three assists.

This Allows McDavid and Draisaitl to Stay Together

What’s most exciting about this for the Oilers is that it means not having to rush a decision on the pairing of Draisaitl and McDavid. The concern when putting these two together is always that you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul and that the depth of the roster suffers just to stack your top line. If the second line is playing as well or better than the first, that’s no longer an issue.

Granted, it is just one game and it was against a team the Oilers have historically scored well against. The Philadelphia Flyers will be another test on Thursday and if this second line continues to roll, the Oilers may have solved a real concern. At the very least, this line has given Woodcroft multiple options.

Next: Why the Oilers Should Consider Sitting Connor Brown