Oilers Preseason Gameday – Vs. Ducks

After a nice win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night in Vernon, the Oilers return home to Rogers Place tonight for the final stretch of the preseason and training camp. With just two more preseason dates after this game with the Ducks, the Oilers are hitting that stage where the team must make decisions on it’s NHL roster and start cutting bubble players.

Currently I have Tyler Pitlick, Drake Caggiula, Jesse Puljujarvi, Griffin Reinhart, Eric Gryba, Jordan Oesterle, Anton Slepyshev and Matt Hendricks on the bubble for the Oilers. I think Hendricks makes the team, but the others will need to show well starting tonight. Lots of competition still going on in Oiler camp.

Cam Talbot will start for the Oil tonight and is expected to go the distance. Talbot struggled in Winnipeg on Friday and has been slow out of the gate this preseason. Hopefully another outing helps him shake off some of the rust ahead of next Wednesday.

The Lineup:

The top line of Lucic-McDavid-Eberle looked better on Sunday than their debut last Wednesday. Lucic looked quicker and the line as a whole looked like it had more chemistry. Both McDavid and Eberle scored in the victory and Lucic made some nice plays throughout the night. Fair to say they will keep getting better as they play together.

That line will not be in the lineup tonight, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl will both center scoring lines for Edmonton in this contest.

I’ll be interested in the Klefbom-Larsson pairing too. They looked strong at even strength on Friday in Winnipeg, but Larsson struggled mightily on the penalty kill. Would like to see a strong night from this unit. As an aside, nice to see Klefbom healthy and back in.

Patrick Maroon – Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jesse Puljujarvi

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Anton Slepyshev – Anton Lander – Tyler Pitlick

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Dillon Simpson – Mark Fayne

Griffin Reinhart – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

No word on the Ducks lineup just yet, but Randy Carlyle seems to be bringing a younger group with him tonight. Both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are excepted to miss this contest. Both are being eased back into camp after their trip to the World Cup of Hockey. Anaheim, by the way, is winless this preseason.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Anton Lander is officially in crunch time now. The veteran center hasn’t exactly had a strong camp for the Oilers, which is a terrible sign after a disastrous 2015-16 season. If Lander continues to falter in preseason action, I think the Oil waive him and keep Drake Caggiula on the roster. Goes without saying that Lander needs to perform here.

Anaheim: Ryan Kesler has always been a pain for the Edmonton Oilers. He’s expected to be the veteran in the lineup tonight for Anaheim, which could present some problems for the Oilers. Kesler has not only been a difference maker on the scoresheet, but he’s terrorized young Oiler forwards for years.

Other Tidbits To Watch:

After appearing injured on Friday night, it’s nice to see Oscar Klefbom back in the lineup here. This will be the third preseason game for he and Adam Larsson, so I’m expecting a strong outing against a youthful Duck lineup.

Leon Draisaitl will center both Maroon and Yakupov tonight, which is a trio I can see working together come opening night. As a soft-minutes scoring line, I believe these three could do some serious damage on the scoreboard. Should be interesting to watch them work together in this one.

Dillon Simpson has hung around a lot longer than people expected, and tonight he skates in Andrej Sekera’s spot. Simpson won’t make Edmonton’s final roster, but this lengthy look in a top-four role will only help moving forward. I think he has played himself into recall territory. Another strong AHL season might push him into Davidson territory next year.

Prediction:

The Ducks are going with a young lineup on the road tonight, while Edmonton will be dressing three of it’s expected NHL lines. Yes, I know the McDavid line isn’t playing, but with nine anticipated regulars in the lineup, this is a deep group.

The Oilers are a more NHL-heavy team in this contest so I expect them to claim the victory. I’ll say 3-1 Edmonton is your final score, with Yakupov, Hendricks and Slepyshev finding the back of the net.