Oilers Gameday – PS Vs. Canucks

The final pre-season home game, ladies and gentleman it’s finally dress rehearsal time. With just two pre-season games to go, the 6-0 Edmonton Oilers will look to continue a perfect exhibition season while staying healthy and preparing for a week from tonight in St. Louis.

The Oilers won 4-0 over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night, but lost F Jordan Eberle for 4-6 weeks due to a shoulder injury.

Tonight we’ll likely see a strong Edmonton lineup battle a Canucks roster that strongly will resemble the unit they will take to Calgary to battle the Flames in six days.

Player To Watch:

Teddy Purcell came into camp with high expectations. He’d worked hard all off-season and had gotten a full weekend of practice with Taylor Hall and Connor McDavid. Unfortunately for him, he was injured in the first pre-season game and just returned to the ice on Tuesday.

Tonight, Purcell will return to the lineup and is slated to skate with Benoit Pouliot and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, giving the Oilers a skilled but veteran line in the top-six. I’ll be interested to see Purcell for two reasons. One, is he healthy and how far behind is he? Second, can he keep up with two of Edmonton’s more skilled players?

Without doubt, this is a big game for Purcell, who will need to step up with Eberle on the shelf if Edmonton wants to get off to a hot start.

Story To Watch:

Taylor Hall, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will once again be a line tonight. We’ve seen the chemistry between McDavid and Draisaitl, but we’ve yet to really see Hall show that chemistry with McDavid or Leon. Can these three mesh tonight against a solid Canucks team?

Also, how will Connor McDavid respond after Tuesday night? I thought he played his best game of the pre-season, just dominating the play when on the ice. Can he keep that up?

If these three can get clicking, Edmonton will be able to score at will. This line is certainly a story to watch tonight as they will be counted on to produce heavily this season.

Training Camp Battle To Watch:

Let’s face it, the goaltending battle is going to have to be settled sooner or later in Edmonton. Cam Talbot will be the starter next Thursday in St. Louis, but it’s all uncertain after that. Both Anders Nilsson and Ben Scrivens have played well so far, but I’d lean Nilsson’s way slightly right now.

With only two pre-season games left, every single shot on goal could be life or death in the NHL for these guys. This battle is extremely tight right now and could be settled at any moment. I’ll be watching the goaltenders tonight in a big way. Who is going to win this backup job?

Oilers Lines (Estimated Based on 9/30 Practice):

Taylor Hall – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Teddy Purcell

Anton Slepyshev – Anton Lander – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Rob Klinkhammer

Griffin Reinhart – Eric Gryba

Andrej Sekera – Justin Schultz

Andrew Ference – Nikita Nikitin

Cam Talbot

Final Notes:

This will be the final game at Rexall Place for two weeks, as the Oilers finish the pre-season in Vancouver on Saturday night and start the regular season with three consecutive road games.

The Oilers currently have 15 forwards, ten defenders and three goalies in camp, giving them 28 players at this time. They must get down to 23 by the start of the season, although D Dillon Simpson will be an easy cut, he’s currently only on the roster due to injury.