Connor McDavid is back and the blender is out. Ahead of Monday’s game against the Seattle Kraken, Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch made a few changes to his team’s forward lines.

The Edmonton Oilers have Connor McDavid back after a three-game suspension and, with that, came some pretty major line changes.

Leon Draisaitl & Zach Hyman record three points apiece on Thursday as the Oilers earn retribution against their Pacific Division rivals with a 6-2 victory over the Canucks at Rogers Place

How does a team replace Connor McDavid in their lineup? That’s an easy question — They don’t. With the team’s captain serving the first game of a three-game suspension for cross-checking, Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said it’ll take a community approach to handle playing without McDavid.

The Oilers prove their ability to win even without the best player in the game, as Leon Draisaital and Zach Hyman dominate with some help from Corey Perry.

It has not been the type of season that the Edmonton Oilers had envisioned for free-agent signing Jeff Skinner.

The improvement in scoring at five-on-five (by far the largest game state) represents a major positive shift for the Oilers in 2024-25. The coaching staff is trying to suppress opposition offence while making certain the elite talent on the Oilers can wheel.

Speaking on Daily Faceoff ( h/t Oilers Nation on X) on Sunday, Yaremchuk argued the Oilers should prioritize acquiring Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic instead of pursuing Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who has been frequently linked to Edmonton.

THROUGH GAMES OF MONDAY, JAN. 27, 2025

Garland, of all people, jabbed at Calvin Pickard when the Oilers goalie had the puck covered midway through the second period, which ignited a scrum behind the net. Perry quickly got involved. He was about to grab Canucks centre Elias Pettersson until he saw defenceman Quinn Hughes, who’d come in off his point, without a dance partner.

Zach Hyman had two goals and an assist, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-2.

Hyman put Edmonton ahead 1-0 at 5:52 of the first period, taking a long lead pass from Draisaitl up the left boards at the blue line, cutting across at the dot while keeping Hronek on his back and scoring glove side on Demko.