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Leon Draisaitl makes his thoughts on Edmonton Oilers experimenting with new power play units extremely clear
Leon Draisaitl has been important to the Edmonton Oilers' power play, but he knows that changes can be necessary. On Wednesday, during practice at Rogers Place, the Oilers tested new power play units. They moved away from the usual group that has been successful in recent years because adjustments were needed after a slow start to the 2024-25 season.
Edmonton has had one of the best power plays in the NHL recently, with a record 32.9% success rate in 2022-23. This season, though, it has struggled, scoring only two power-play goals out of 19 chances. As a result, the coaching staff decided to make some changes. Draisaitl, who holds the team record for power-play goals, agreed it was time to try something new.
“We’ve been together for a long time, and sometimes a little shake-up can be beneficial,” Draisaitl said via NHL.com.
In their recent 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Oilers went 1-for-4 on the power play. Although Connor McDavid scored a power-play goal, the team didn’t create much on their other chances.
"I think we could've been 2-for-4 last night, and everyone would think 50 percent and everyone's happy, but we couldn't capitalize," Fraisaitl said. "This is a new look, but it doesn't mean that it's set in stone. We know what we have with our unit, and it's just a matter of time for us to find that again."
Draisaitl, who has scored a franchise-high 147 power-play goals, understands the need for changes. He hopes these adjustments can help reignite their power play moving forward.
The Edmonton Oilers' power play includes key players like Draisaitl, McDavid, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard. Over the last two seasons, they’ve had the best power play in the league, with a 29.5% success rate.
However, their slow start of 2-for-19 this season led the coaching staff, under Kris Knoblauch, to try new combinations during practice. McDavid and Draisaitl were paired with Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, while Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins joined a unit with Adam Henrique and Darnell Nurse.
Kris Knoblauch discusses Edmonton Oilers' flexible power play strategy amid adjustments
Knoblauch explained that these changes are not permanent and are intended to give the team flexibility against different opponents or situations.
"Just getting an opportunity to practice and give us some different looks," Knoblauch said. "To think that we can replace the first-unit power play and be better, I don't think that's necessarily the case."
He also noted that injuries, longer power plays or the opponent’s strategy might require a shift.
"I think that it's good to have some flexibility. Maybe it's injury or another team's pre-scout, or maybe a power play goes a little bit longer and you want to make a switch," he added.
These adjustments aren’t new for the Oilers, as the team has made changes to the power-play unit before. They have rotated players like Kane and Hyman, and earlier, Alex Chiasson and James Neal. Recently, Evan Bouchard replaced Tyson Barrie on the power play, and that move worked well.
Despite these early setbacks, Draisaitl and Knoblauch remain confident. The Edmonton Oilers face the Pittsburgh Penguins next at home on Friday.
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