[JerryUnderscore]

A couple things I'll mention:

1. Chicago lost last night 5-2 and I doubt anyone is saying they will miss the playoffs. It's only one game, let's not assume the sky is falling just yet.

2. I have no idea what Gulutzan is thinking, so I'm not going to pretend I do. It's possible he knows Kulak and Jokipakka are better defencemen than Grossmann, but he's unwilling to gift them a spot in the lineup.

One of the things we always criticize the Oilers for is a lack of accountability. Maybe he benched Joki and Kulak because he's wanted to see more effort. In which case, maybe he's willing to ice a subpar lineup in game one in order to show them what he expects.

It's like Burke refusing to trade Cammy away for a subpar return a few years ago. He would rather lose him for nothing and make the statement to the league that we're not losing trades.

Once again, I'm not going to say I know what Gully is thinking, but it's possible this was more of a statement to get those two younger defenders going rather than genuinely thinking Grossmann is the better option.