The Edmonton Oilers get a much firmer read on themselves tonight when the Utah Mammoth come to Rogers Place.
Edmonton is 5-0-1, Utah 5-2-0, and this looks like the first real measuring-stick game of the season for the home side. It’s also a night that could tell us a lot about how Mike Babcock wants to handle his lineup against a deeper opponent.
The biggest question hangs over Leon Draisaitl. If Babcock is thinking the way some around the club believe he should, Draisaitl could slide down to the second line for this one.
That would create a top unit of Formenton-McDavdi-Hyman, with Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen on the next line. Against Utah, that kind of split makes sense.
The Mammoth have enough depth to punish a team that leans too hard on one mega-line.
Utah’s forward group has been producing in layers. The club has six players averaging more than 2.00 points per 60 at five-on-five, matching Edmonton in that category.
Their center depth starts with Nick Schmaltz on the top line with Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse, and that trio has scored eight goals. Vincent Trochek centers Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther on the second line, and that group has six goals.
Barrett Hayton’s third line with Anders Lee and Kailer Yamamoto has three goals, while Kevin Stenlund’s fourth line with Jack McBain and Daniel But has also chipped in three.
Edmonton’s scoring distribution looks different, but it’s no less dangerous. The top line has piled up 15 goals in six games, which is a huge number this early. Behind that, the Owen Michaels line with Alex Formenton and Mathieu Joseph has three goals, Jason Dickinson’s group with Filip Hallander and Kasperi Kapanen has two, and the fourth line of Josh Samanski, Trent Frederic and Ike Howard has one.
As a whole, Utah’s four lines have scored 20 goals in seven games, which works out to 2.86 per game. Edmonton’s four lines have 21 goals in six games, or 3.5 per game. On the blue line, Edmonton has eight goals compared with Utah’s six.
The feeling here is that the Oilers are still early in the process of finding the best blend. There’s a hope that things settle back toward normal when Nuge and Matt Savoie return.
For now, though, the safest play may be to mix and match McDavid and Draisaitl rather than keep them glued together all night. A hybrid approach - some time together, some time apart - seems like the likeliest middle ground.
The goaltending decision matters too. The expectation here is Levi gets the start.
There are a couple of individual matchups worth watching beyond the star names. Owen Michaels is the player to keep an eye on, especially if Babcock likes him enough to let that line see a lot of the Trochek group.
That is a tall assignment. Connor Murphy could also be a busy man if Dickinson’s line gets that matchup.
And one under-the-radar name worth tracking is Filip Hallander, who has caught the eye in limited viewings.
The rest of the day around the show includes Bagged Milk from Daily Faceoff Edmonton at 1, plus a Utah perspective with a guest still to be determined. The Lowdown will also touch Dodgers-Brewers, Guardians-Rays, preview the Elks on Friday night and run through the full NFL slate for the weekend. Noontime to 2 p.m. on Sports 1440 and You Tube.
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