Embattled veteran gets a smart boost from Edmonton Oilers

This in from Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, news that the Oilers have boosted embattled winger Andrew Mangiapane from the pressbox, where he sat out the last game, to the second line. Mangiapane will be on the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin, a trio that has had some success in the past.

Here is Stauffer’s report of the lines from the team’s morning skate:

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Mangiapane
Janmark-Roslovic-Savoie
Jones-Henrique-Frederic

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Regula
Stastney-Emberson

Ingram

My take

1. Mangiapane got benched for a game. He and the Oilers are looking for a new home for him shortly after he signed a two-year deal at $3.6 million per year. So the vet is going through something of his NHL player mid-life crisis, right?

His scoring has been poor for the Oilers, but he hasn’t been that bad. He’s been as good as Matt Savoie, for instance, and all kinds of fans are thrilled with Savoie. The fact is that along with Mattias Janmark and Zach Hyman, Mangiapane has been the Oil’s best defensive winger. He’s a smart, alert positional defender who backchecks hard. Mangiapane can still help a team win in the playoffs, I have little doubt of this, he’s just got to find the right linemates, either here or elsewhere.

2. Hat tip to Oilers podcaster Kevin McCurdy on this, as he first noticed it, but in short minutes, just 50 at 5-on-5, Mangiapane, Draisaitl and Podkolzin have stomped the opposition, with both two-thirds of the shots, 28-to-14, and two-thirds of the goals, 2-to-1. If they can keep that up, this could well be a strong second line for the Oilers, but that sample size is indeed small.

3. As for Ingram in net, I approve. Yes, Pickard has been playing like the Second Coming of Dwayne Roloson in recent weeks, but the Oilers still need to see more of Ingram, still need to find out what they have in this goalie. And, of course, my Cult colleague Kurt Leavins and I have a bet of one coffee on whether or not Ingram will be treated as the No. 1 goalie in the absence of Tristan Jarry. For me to win the bet, Ingram has to start 66.6 per cent of the games in total, so we can all be glad he’s starting for that reason, correct?

4. Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard were not picked for Team Canada, which is, frankly, a bad joke. Team Canada spent the Four Nations tournament looking for the right linemate for McDavid and never did find that player. Why not go with the winger who has had more success than anyone with McDavid and was also the best forechecking winger in the 2025 playoffs until he got hurt. On defence, Colton Parayko struggled to move the puck and contain top attackers in the Four Nations tournament, and he’s having an iffy year on a mediocre team. Why not go with Evan Bouchard, the best d-man in the past two Stanley Cup playoff seasons?

Oh well, it’s Team Canada’s loss. That said, I’ll still be rooting for them even if their selection committee made some perplexing selections. McDavid is on the team and that’s good enough for me. And I’d just as soon see the other Oilers players all get a nice rest before the 2026 playoffs.

At the Cult of Hockey

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