The Edmonton Oilers gave fans a sneak peek at what they can expect from the lineup when they open up their season in Vancouver tomorrow night.<\/p>\n
The team participated in their final practice at Rogers Place before flying out to the West Coast and decided to run some potential lines in the process.<\/p>\n
Only 11 forwards were named to the team\u2019s opening night roster due to an injured Markus Niemel\u00e4inen not being able to be sent down to make room for an extra body up front.<\/p>\n
Jason Gregor, with Sports 1440, says some injuries on the blue line might force Edmonton to play with less than a full lineup.<\/p>\n
Ryan McLeod will play tomorrow. Oilers will either play 11-6 or 11-7 depending on Ekholm and Kulak. Both skated again today and I\u2019d expect both could play. Forward lines will be:
Kane-McDavid-Brown
RNH-Draisaitl-Hyman
Holloway-McLeod-Foegele
Janmark-Ryan<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) October 10, 2023<\/p>\n
The forward lines, according to Gregor, are expected to shake out like this:<\/p>\n
Evander Kane \u2013 Connor McDavid \u2013 Connor Brown
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins \u2013 Leon Draisaitl \u2013 Zach Hyman
Dylan Holloway \u2013 Ryan McLeod \u2013 Warren Foegele
Derek Ryan \u2013 Mattias Janmark<\/p>\n
The top six should come as no surprise as they are similar to what the team deployed for the majority of last season. Connor Brown is the lone new addition to that group and brings with him a long history with McDavid and an interesting toolkit. Despite only playing in four games with the Washington Capitals last year, due to injury, Brown has looked completely healthy during the preseason.<\/p>\n
The intrigue begins to hit with the third line as Dylan Holloway makes his return to the lineup after appearing in 51 games with the Oilers last season, scoring nine points in the process. The 2020 first-rounder has once again had an impressive preseason showing and has earned another shot at establishing himself on the roster.<\/p>\n
Ryan McLeod, who missed all of training camp with an injury, is expected to suit up as the team\u2019s third-line centreman.<\/p>\n
TSN\u2019s Ryan Rishaug was able to pick out the defensive pairs at practice, which were a bit muddier than the forwards.<\/p>\n
Ekholm paired with Niemelainen in an early drill. <\/p>\n
Nurse-Bouchard
Kulak \u2013 Ceci
Broberg-Desharnais<\/p>\n
\u2014 Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) October 10, 2023<\/p>\n
These lines seem to indicate that the Oilers are set to roll out a group of six defenders that looks like this:<\/p>\n
Darnell Nurse \u2013 Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak \u2013 Cody Ceci
Philip Broberg \u2013 Vincent Desharnais<\/p>\n
One notable omission is Mattias Ekholm, who also missed the entire preseason while dealing with a hip flexor issue. He did participate in practice but was paired up with Niemel\u00e4inen, which seems to indicate that he is not quite ready to go.<\/p>\n
Rishaug also posited that Ekholm could play tomorrow night but in a more limited role.<\/p>\n
Ekholm looks pretty good out here. My guess is he plays as 7th D \u2013 kills penalties and depending on how he feels his minutes go up or down. Taking part in all the drills so far today.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) October 10, 2023<\/p>\n
Outside of that, Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard have been connected at the hip for the majority of training camp and have had decent results. Nurse is expected to take a more conservative approach to his game as Evan Bouchard looks to pick up where left off last season.<\/p>\n
Brett Kulak was sidelined with an undisclosed injury over the past week but appears to be ready to go. He and Cody Ceci have been a new pairing that head coach Jay Woodcroft has been trying out of late.<\/p>\n
The bottom pairing is sure to be an exciting one as the team looks to be pairing a few inexperienced players together in Philip Broberg and Vincent Desharnais. Broberg has struggled to live up to his first-round billing since 2019 and Desharnais is coming off a tough playoff with the Oilers.<\/p>\n
When it comes to who will be between the pipes, the answer is not crystal clear just yet. Stuart Skinner was in the starter\u2019s net on Tuesday morning but there has been no confirmation that last year\u2019s Calder Trophy runner-up will get the nod.<\/p>\n
Considering how good Jack Campbell has looked in the preseason, there is a chance that Woodcroft gives the 31-year-old veteran a shot at redemption.<\/p>\n
You can catch the Oilers opening up their season against the Canucks on Wednesday night on Sportsnet One at 8 pm MT.<\/p>\n