Oilers shake up lines ahead of game versus Blackhawks

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to right the ship after a disappointing 6-1 loss in their season opener versus the Winnipeg Jets.

The Oilers had two days off to figure things out after the tough effort, and are now preparing to take on the Chicago Blackhawks this evening. While this team is talented enough to sort things out for themselves, head coach Kris Knoblauch is looking to help by making a few changes to the lineup.

Oilers projected lineup vs. CHI:

RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Skinner – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Janmark – Henrique – Brown
Podkolzin – Ryan – Perry

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Dermott
Kulak – Emberson

Pickard#Oilers

— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) October 12, 2024

The biggest change will come between the pipes, as Calvin Pickard will be making his first start of the season. He came in for relief of Stuart Skinner on Wednesday and kicked aside six of the seven shots he faced.

As Oilers reporter Tony Brar pointed out on X, Pickard’s parents will be in the building to watch their son play tonight.

Calvin Pickard’s parents are in the building tonight for his first start of the season. #Oilers

— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) October 12, 2024

“They’re amazing,” Pickard said of his parents. “It’s always nice to have them here. They saw a lot of games last year, too. Always nice to have dinner with them and spend some time with them. It’s exciting to have them [be] a part of this.”

The forward lines did get jumbled during Wednesday’s blowout, but are back to what they were at puck drop. The defensive pairings, however, have been tweaked.

Ty Emberson, who head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t seem overly impressed with versus the Jets, has been bumped down to the third pairing alongside Brett Kulak. The beneficiary will be Travis Dermott, who will play second pair minutes with Darnell Nurse.

“I think the one thing we were missing in our first game was just the execution when we had the puck,” Knoblauch said this morning. “I think we just need to move it around a little bit more.”

Tonight’s outing will be an important one for the Oilers, as they will be back in action once again tomorrow night versus the Calgary Flames. Despite things turning out well last season, this group is well aware they can’t start as slowly as they did to begin the 2023-24 campaign.

Puck drop in tonight’s outing is set for 8pm MT.

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