The Edmonton Oilers are opting to change things up a bit with Connor McDavid out of the lineup.
After calling up Noah Philp and Drake Caggiula on Tuesday, head coach Kris Knoblauch has decided to insert both players into the lineup for tonight’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. This will be Philp’s NHL debut while Caggiula will pull on the Oilers jersey for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
OilersTV’s Tony Brar confirmed these lineup changes this morning.
• Noah Philp will make his NHL debut tonight.
• Drake Caggiula also draws in.
• Pickard starts. #Oilers
— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) October 31, 2024
Philp will almost certainly be the team’s fourth-line centre tonight, alongside Corey Perry and Caggiula. While it hasn’t been confirmed, it appears that veteran Derek Ryan will be sitting out tonight’s game as a healthy scratch.
The additions of Philp and Caggiula should help bring a bit more speed and energy to the bottom six. While Ryan has been serviceable to start the season, it’s clear that the team lacks speed down the lineup.
The Oilers will look to rebound after a horrendous effort in a 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night. Edmonton already has one 4-2 victory over the Predators earlier this month, a game in which McDavid had one goal. At the time, Nashville was still searching for its first win, but now, the team is coming in on a bit of a hot streak, having won three of its last four games.
Calvin Pickard will once again get the task of fighting off the Preds. He stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced in his last game against Nashville and is coming off an impressive OT victory over the Detroit Red Wings last weekend that saw him post a .923 save percentage.