McDavid and brand new Oiler finally take the ice together but Skinner demoted

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This in from Bob Stauffer of the Oilers, Edmonton’s line-up for tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, with the big news being that Connor McDavid and newcomer Trent Frederic were back on the ice.

In other news, Jeff Skinner was bumped down from his spot on the second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, with Kasperi Kapanen moved up.

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Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson
Hyman-RNH-Kapanen
Skinner-Janmark-Brown
Jones-Henrique-Perry
(McDavid, Frederic, Kane-LTIR, all on ice)

Walman-Bouchard
Nurse-Stecher
Kulak-Emberson

Pickard
Rodrigue

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My take

1. It’s encouraging to see Frederic skating but we won’t know for sure if the Oilers made a smart pick-up until he’s back in the line-up. His recovery from injury has taken longer than expected. We recall that last year the Oilers picked up Troy Stecher at the deadline when he was hurting with an ankle cyst, and that after some mediocre games with the team Stecher was out for the playoffs with injury. Frederic is a more critical pick-up for the Oilers, expected to provide the team with needed toughness and skill.

2. It was thought McDavid would likely not meet up with the team on this four-game road trip yet here he is now. That’s obviously good news.

3. As for Skinner, the line he was on played poorly against the Flames getting little done, but Skinner did make a savvy pass to Leon Draisaitl in OT for the winning goal. Skinner has also played strong hockey as of late. Perhaps he’s being bounced down to the third line due to that weak performance. It makes more sense to demote him than it does Hyman, who has been strong all season in terms of his two-way play.

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But based on their overall play this season, Skinner is a much more effective player than Kapanen. And as my Cult colleague Bruce McCurdy just pointed out to me, since Feb. 1 Kapanen has two assists in 20 games.

4. It could also be that Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch is thinking ahead to the playoffs and trying to find a place where Skinner does work in the line-up if he’s not playing with either McDavid or Draisaitl. Skinner has been trending up in terms of his two-way play recently so it makes sense to find a spot where he can make a contribution both tonight and down the road.

At the Cult of Hockey

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