Oilers Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines  – Training Camp & Preseason Continue – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

The NHL season is officially here, and so is the week ahead series for the Edmonton Oilers. This article will look at the Oilers’ upcoming schedule and the storylines to follow through the preseason as we inch closer to the Sept. 29 puck drop.

Are Injuries Mounting?

Before training camp began, it was confirmed that Matt Savoie, Frederik Andersen, Alec Regula, and Mattias Janmark wouldn’t participate. While timelines are vague, Regula and Janmark seem to be ahead of Savoie and Andersen. “Regula and Janmark are closer to playing just because they’re going to be skating,” general manager Stan Bowman said during his press conference on Sept. 16. That’s concerning considering Savoie and Andersen are important pieces to their success.

Then, the Oilers had two injury scares during Friday’s skate (Sept. 18). Jason Dickinson appeared to hurt himself and seemed frustrated as he slammed his stick against the boards. He left the ice early, and he didn’t participate in the team scrimmage later that afternoon. Fortunately, he shouldn’t miss any time.

During the scrimmage, Oiler fans held their breath as Connor McDavid was shaken up after new acquisition Shakir Mukhamadullin drove him into the net. The Oilers’ captain was awarded a penalty shot, which he scored on. However, he appeared to favour his right arm, but didn’t seek medical attention. There doesn’t seem to be concern within the locker room, and that’s a good thing. Thankfully, McDavid played in Edmonton’s preseason opener against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (Sept. 19), so that incident wasn’t too serious, but it’s still something to keep an eye on.

Mike Babcock’s Effect

New head coach Mike Babcock has been hands-on in preparing his team and getting to know them. During his first practice on Thursday, he was extremely vocal, trying to instill detail, which this team has lacked for years.

“What we’re trying to do is send the message on how we want to play. We’ve asked them to learn the details and then find your game within our game. So if you know the details and everyone’s detailed, everybody on the team can be important. When you’re not detailed enough, no one knows where to go, and only the best guys get to be important. We’re going to play without the puck, and to play here, you’ve got to be fit. We’re going to play 12 forwards, and everyone’s going to be important. So you have to have a role, and you have to understand what we expect”, Babcock stated after the first skate on Sept. 17.

The message is clear, and unlike previous years, Babcock should have this team prepared to play from the first puck drop. The Oilers must have more structure in their game, and he might be the right guy for the job. The coach is arguably the most intriguing aspect this season.

Oilers Lineup

The Oilers have some new faces in the mix and rolled out a veteran-heavy lineup for their first preseason game against the Jets on Saturday. Here’s what it looked like:

Forwards

Leon Draisaitl– Connor McDavid – Vasily Podkolzin 

Alex Formenton – Colton Dach – Mathieu Joseph

Max Jones – Josh Samanski – Isaac Howard

William Nicholl – Owen Michaels – Seth Griffith

Defence

Ryan Shea – Evan Bouchard

Spencer Stastney – Ty Emberson

Riley Stillman – Josh Brown

Goalies

Tristan Jarry

Matt Tomkins

The Oilers beat a weaker Winnipeg lineup 5-2 that didn’t play its best players. Edmonton’s goalscorers were Shea, McDavid, Draisaitl, Formenton, and Dach. Jarry stopped 15 of 16 shots in two periods, while Tomkins stopped 4 of 5 in the third.

The Oilers will likely play veterans Dickinson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Kasperi Kapanen, Trent Frederic, Jake Walman, Mattias Ekholm, and Connor Murphy in their next game. We should also get our first look at Devon Levi in goal.

The biggest surprise with the forward group is Dach playing centre. The Oilers have bottom-six competition on the wings but not up the middle. Samanski was the only legitimate option, but maybe Dach can transition into that role and provide internal competition. It will be interesting to see if that experiment works out long term, or if it’s just a trial. As Babcock said earlier this week, we shouldn’t put too much stock into preseason line combinations, because talent is still being evaluated.

Oilers Upcoming Schedule

With the shortened four-game preseason schedule, the Oilers conclude the preseason with three games this week, all against Canadian opponents.

While the results don’t necessarily matter, the process is crucial to success. Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.