Amid a rocky begin to the season, Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch stacked the highest line by pairing Connor McDavid with Leon Draisaitl, a dynamic duo that’s typically relied upon in Oil Nation. Whereas this method has confirmed efficient prior to now, most coaches have understood that the Oilers should discover success with McDavid and Draisaitl driving separate traces for the long-term good thing about the crew.
For almost a decade, McDavid and Draisaitl have delivered jaw-dropping highlights, typically combining their skills to win hard-fought video games, particularly within the playoffs. The Oilers have incessantly loaded up their high line with the dynamic duo all through a lot of the postseason. Nonetheless, the magic they create collectively comes at a price.
Solely having one line capable of generate offense stunts the crew, even when the road consists of a few of the greatest gamers within the league. It makes for depraved short-term hockey, but it surely’s counterproductive to long-term success. Always overworking McDavid and Draisaitl will burn their fuel tanks shortly. So too, fatiguing them and creating a primary atmosphere for damage.
Extra Than Simply Fatigue for McDavid and Draisaitl
Within the playoffs, McDavid and Draisaitl not solely face elevated ice time but in addition turn out to be prime targets for the opposition. Their distinctive skills make them key gamers of curiosity, and the bodily, grinding model of postseason play, mixed with the fatigue from being overused, has led to a sequence of accidents for each stars. Although the decided duo has performed via these accidents, it inevitably hinders their efficiency, additional diminishing their probabilities of realizing their Stanley Cup desires.
Success via balanced contributions from all 4 traces is vital to boosting the Oilers’ probabilities of profitable, and it’s an important trait of Stanley Cup-caliber groups. Coach Kris Knoblauch understands this, aiming to deploy McDavid and Draisaitl collectively solely in brief, important moments. Nonetheless, like many coaches earlier than him, he typically falls into the acquainted sample of relying too closely on the dynamic duo.
The McDavid and Draisaitl duo has been cut up up forward of Tuesday’s matchup in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes. Can the Oilers discover success whereas maintaining them aside?
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