McDavid Has 17 Points, but a Red-Hot Podkolzin Complicates Oilers’ Plans

Connor McDavid’s 800th NHL game was a four-point night, and he still wasn’t the only Edmonton forward who stood out. Vasily Podkolzin remains red hot for the Oilers, off to a career-best start. With seven goals in six games, he’s also partly responsible for McDavid’s quick start. The question becomes, can you really move him off that line?

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The Oilers beat the Kings 4-1 in Los Angeles on Tuesday to finish a three-game California sweep and push their win streak to five. McDavid now leads the NHL with 17 points through six games, a pace that no longer feels like a hot start. McDavid is McDavid. He’ll score with any linemates. That said, there’s something about the trio of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Podkolzin that is working.

It’s a dominant first line, and its success quickly shows the Oilers may have found the missing piece in their top six. As such, with the imminent return of Zach Hyman, how can head coach Mike Babcock justify splitting up that group? He can’t. … or at least, he shouldn’t.

Podkolzin Is Making Noise

Vasily Podkolzin scored twice on Tuesday night, stretching his career-best point streak to six games. He now has seven goals this season, a total that makes it hard to see him as a depth piece anymore.

Head coach Mike Babcock was asked about keeping Draisaitl and McDavid together. He responded that the Oilers don’t have a lot of other options with guys like Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Matt Savoie out. But, he was proud of the team’s record despite the injuries and said he was excited that guys will be coming back and the roster will be deeper.

“Life’s good,” he said.

The Hyman Question

Life could be better, even if it gets trickier. Zach Hyman is close to returning, and he has spent years as a fixture next to McDavid. Podkolzin, meanwhile, has earned his spot while playing in front of the best player in the world.

So what should the Oilers do?

• Keep the line intact and move Hyman down to spread out the scoring.
• Put Hyman back with McDavid and let Podkolzin drive a second unit.
• Split the difference by changing the power play and leaving even strength alone.

That last point may be the most interesting one. If Podkolzin has earned a role with the man advantage, does Hyman’s return push him off it? Or do you reward a streak like this and make Hyman fit?

The Oilers get a real test Thursday at home against a Utah Mammoth team that has been playing well. It is presumed Hyman will be ready to play in that game. But where does he play? How Babcock sets his lines, and whether Podkolzin is still in the same spot, will say a lot.

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