{"id":929338,"date":"2026-10-11T19:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T19:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/929338\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T19:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T19:26:13","slug":"what-should-the-oilers-lines-look-like-when-hyman-and-nugent-hopkins-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/929338\/","title":{"rendered":"What should the Oilers\u2019 lines look like when Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins return?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Decisions, decisions\u2026 How will the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> deploy their forwards when Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins return?Hyman practiced with the team on Friday<\/a> for the first time since he drew into the opening night lineup. The winger is close to a return to action, but he wasn\u2019t in a regular practice jersey. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is also likely to return soon. Both players are elite forwards, and some would call them the heart and soul of the team. Considering how important Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins are, it\u2019s amazing how well the Oilers have fared so far. The team is an impressive 3-0-1 early in the season.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at some options.<\/p>\n

Oilers\u2019 forwards lineup at practice on Friday:<\/p>\n

Podkolzin \u2013 McDavid \u2013 Draisaitl<\/p>\n

Hallander \u2013 Dickinson \u2013 Kapanen\/Hyman<\/p>\n

Formenton \u2013 Michaels \u2013 Joseph<\/p>\n

Frederic\/Jones \u2013 Samanski \u2013 Howard<\/p>\n

Injured forwards not available: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Colton Dach, Matt Savoie, Mattias Janmark<\/p>\n

After running these lines at Friday\u2019s practice, the newly acquired Filip Hallander<\/a> played his first game against the Sharks. Edmonton traded defenceman Spencer Stastney to pick up the Swedish forward from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Otherwise, the lineup is almost identical to the one that beat the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.Forwards lineup option one<\/p>\n

Podkolzin \u2013 McDavid \u2013 Draisaitl<\/p>\n

Hyman \u2013 Nugent-Hopkins \u2013 Kapanen<\/p>\n

Hallander \u2013 Dickinson \u2013 Frederic<\/p>\n

Formenton \u2013 Michaels \u2013 Joseph<\/p>\n

Howard, Jones, and Samanski are extra players<\/p>\n

Forwards lineup option two<\/p>\n

Nugent-Hopkins \u2013 McDavid \u2013 Hyman<\/p>\n

Podkolzin \u2013 Draisaitl \u2013 Kapanen<\/p>\n

Dach \u2013 Dickinson \u2013 Frederic<\/p>\n

Formenton \u2013 Michaels \u2013 Joseph<\/p>\n

Hallander, Howard, Samanski, and Jones are extra players<\/p>\n

This version of the lineup splits up McDavid and Draisaitl, which many hockey pundits have called for. Babcock has said he planned to split the duo up for some away games. Those plans were abandoned when injuries hit.<\/a> In this formation, Nugent-Hopkins is moved to the wing, possibly his better position, and reunited with McDavid and Hyman. This lineup also has more size with two big wingers for Draisaitl and Dach on the third line. It could only be an option if Dach\u2019s injury is short-term.Forwards lineup option three<\/p>\n

Hallander \u2013 McDavid \u2013 Hyman<\/p>\n

Podkolzin \u2013 Draisaitl \u2013 Kapanen<\/p>\n

Nugent-Hopkins \u2013 Dickinson \u2013 Frederic<\/p>\n

Formenton \u2013 Michaels \u2013 Joseph<\/p>\n

Dach, Howard, Samanski, and Jones are extra players<\/p>\n

This is a deep team<\/p>\n

The new depth in the organization gives Babcock a ton of options, once everyone is healthy. Quinn Hutson and Viljami Marjala are also performing well for the farm team in Bakersfield. This is one of the deepest Oilers\u2019 teams ever.<\/p>\n

Letters to the Editor\"\"Photoshop by Tom KostiukDaily Faceoff Edmonton wants to hear from you, the reader, in our new weekly \u201cLetters to the Editor\u201d segment. Letters can be emailed to Daily Faceoff Edmonton\u2019s managing editor Zach Laing (zach.laing@bettercollective.com<\/a>), titled \u201cLetters to the Editor.\u201d Please include a letter up to 200 words, including your name and place of residence (city, town, province, or state). Your letters may be edited for length and\/or clarity. Letters must be submitted by Sunday morning to be considered for that week\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Decisions, decisions\u2026 How will the Edmonton Oilers deploy their forwards when Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins return?Hyman practiced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,23752],"class_list":["post-929338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}