Oilers Preseason Gameday @ Vancouver

Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve written one of these. I should’ve paid more attention to the rest of the preaseason. 

Fresh off a win against Carolina in Saskatoon on Wednesday, the Oilers look to close out the preseason with a win against the Canucks in Vancouver.

Following Wednesday’s game, the Oilers made four more training camp cuts, sending Kris Patrick Russell and Nick Ellis down to Bakersfield, while Dillon Simpson and Ty Rattie were waived for the purpose of assignment and have also found themselves with the Condors.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of this preseason has been Kailer Yamamoto. After an average rookie camp, the Oilers 2017 first round pick has impressed everyone, from fans to coaching staff to teammates and looks like a lock to be on the roster for at least the first handful of games this season.

Keys to the Game

Edmonton

• Honestly, they just need to play their game and not let Vancouver dictate play. the Oilers have shown that when they’re on, they’re REALLY on.

Vancouver

• Try to get the Oilers off their game early and not let them get back in it. It’s clear that Vancouver is going through a rebuild (something with which Oiler fans are not unfamiliar), and that they’ll be in over their heads against the Oilers in this matchup.

Players to Watch

Edmonton

• Kailer Yamamoto has been a revelation. He might be small, but he’s got a skill set that seems to fit right in with the kind of team the Oilers are aspiring to be. What remains to be seen is whether or not he can stick with the team past the 9 game window, or if he’s going to spend the year in the WHL.
• Anton Slepyshev makes his preseason debut tonight; hopefully this will answer some questions about his ankle’s readiness for the season.

Vancouver

• Does Vancouver have real NHL players? Or are they in tank mode already?

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Kailer Yamamoto

Drake Caggiula – Ryan Strome – Jussi Jokinen

Jujhar Khaira – Mark Letestu – Anton Slepyshev

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Kris Russell – Matt Benning

Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Vancouver

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Thomas Vanek

Loui Eriksson – Markus Granlund – Brock Boeser

Sam Gagner – Alex Burmistrov – Jake Virtanen

Darren Archibald – Brandon Sutter – Jayson Megna

Alex Edler – Troy Stecher

Ben Hutton – Erik Gudbranson

Pat Wiercioch – Alex Biega

Jakob Markstrom

Notes

It’s just the preseason. The Oilers are in a good place, but let’s not plan the parade just yet.