Edmonton Oilers Look to Rebound in Kraft Hockeyville Match vs. Kings
With four preseason games left, the Edmonton Oilers are still looking for their form. They dropped their last two decisions and appeared sluggish, despite having an NHL-ready lineup on Wednesday.
As they head to Lumby, B.C. for a Kraft Hockeyville matchup with the Kings, the Oilers are ready to rebound.
Here are the projected lines for Sunday:
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Forwards:
Milan Lucic-Connor McDavid-Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Jesse Puljujarvi
Kris Versteeg- Drake Caggiula-Nail Yakupov
Anton Slepyshev-Anton Lander-Iiro Pakarinen
Defense:
Darnell Nurse-Brandon Davidson
Jordan Oesterle-Matthew Benning
Matt Fraser-Eric Gryba
Between the Pipes:
I expect Cam Talbot to start, with Laurent Brossoit backing up. We will update you when the starter is announced.
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Important Game Notes:
– The Oilers get a taste of an NHL-ready set of forward lines but are auditioning Oilers’ hopefuls on the defensive pairings. Benning will get an opportunity as a top-four RHD, and Gryba must continue to prove his worth.
– Oscar Klefbom and Patrick Maroon did not join the team in Vernon, but both skated in Edmonton, which is a great sign. Maroon remains day-to-day, but is being held out of the lineup and is not expected to return to preseason play anytime soon (possibly won’t play until the start of the season). Klefbom took a maintenance day Friday and was said to be recovering, but wouldn’t miss game time. He’s not playing tonight, but whether or not it’s injury-related is unknown.
– After being day-to-day with an injury, Yakupov is returning to the lineup Sunday. He will play on the third line with Caggiula and Versteeg, which should be interesting. Maybe playing with a solid, fast centre like Caggiula will get him going.
– Lucic, McDavid and Eberle will remain on the top unit together, despite crossed signals and poor chemistry Wednesday. Lines do take some time to form chemistry, and all three players were thrown on a unit with incredibly little practice together. Expect them to do better Sunday.
The puck drops at 9 p.m. ET, or 7 p.m. MT. What do you think the final score will be, and who are you watching? We’re making Yakupov our player to watch, considering his path toward redemption, hard offseason training and pairing with Caggiula, and we’re predicting a 4-3 Edmonton one. Hey… we can hope, right?