Oilers Gameday – PS Vs. Jets

The Oilers return to the ice tonight as they host the Winnipeg Jets in pre-season game number three. The Oilers swept their split squad battle with the Flames on Monday, winning 4-2 at home and 3-1 on the road. Sure, it was pretty sloppy, but there were a lot of good signs on night one.

Tonight, the Oilers will face a Winnipeg team that is leaving it’s best players back home, they are rolling with the B squad tonight in Edmonton, no doubt about that.

Player To Watch:

Anton Slepyshev is a name that many Oiler fans discussed this past summer. The skilled Russian is coming off of a good season in the KHL, and he impressed in Penticton last week. Although he was quiet on Monday, Slepyshev still has a lot of hype around him, he’s the next skilled player to roll through Edmonton’s system.

While he’ll likely start in the AHL and be forced to work his way up over the course of his entry level deal, Slepyshev has a chance to really make a mark this pre-season. Tonight, he’ll make his debut in Edmonton with Bogdan Yakimov and Braden Christoffer by his side.

Can Slepyshev show some skill tonight and impress new coach Todd McLellan? For the rookies sake, I certainly hope so. I’m really, really interested to see him, looking forward to it.

Story To Watch:

Ben Scrivens will share the net tonight with Cam Talbot. That might not seem like anything, but it’s a pretty big deal for Scrivens, who is looking to bounce back after a tough 2014-15 season. The good news for him is that he looked good on Monday in Calgary and that McLellan wants to see him up close.

Another strong performance tonight brings the professor one step closer to saving his roster spot in the NHL. I suspect he’s strong in this game. That said, if he isn’t, things get a little more interesting in net.

Training Camp Battle To Watch:

Both Darnell Nurse and Griffin Reinhart will be in the lineup tonight at Rexall Place. Reinhart was steady and solid on Monday, while Nurse was a possession stats darling and had a huge fight that swung momentum. Let’s just say it was a good debut on both sides of the coin.

The roster is cluttered on defense, meaning that only one of these guys is going to make the team at the most. Tonight, both of them will get a real good opportunity to show something to Todd McLellan. Both would be wise to take advantage of it.

Oilers Lines:

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Anton Lander – Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski

Anton Slepyshev – Bogdan Yakimov – Braden Christoffer

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Griffin Reinhart – Eric Gryba

Darnell Nurse – Jordan Oesterle

Cam Talbot

Ben Scrivens

Final Notes:

Taylor Hall, who did skate on Tuesday, is out tonight. He was banged up late in the home game on Monday, although coach McLellan called it a “minor bump/bruise.” Also out tonight is Connor McDavid, who had two assists in his pre-season debut against the Flames. Not exactly a shock that Edmonton isn’t forcing him into every game. Teddy Purcell is a little banged up right now too.

This will be Cam Talbot’s last action for a little while, as Todd McLellan announced today that Ben Scrivens and Anders Nilsson will both play a full game this weekend. Scrivens and Nilsson are both fighting for the backup job to Talbot.

Game time is 7:00 pm MT, it’s being streamed on the Edmonton Oilers website, although those outside of Edmonton will need to listen on 630 CHED to hear the action.