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Oilers show off new lines and an injured player may be close to returning

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Oct 6 2026, 7:57 pm
Oilers show off new lines and an injured player may be close to returning
Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers might finally be getting some relief from their early-season injury troubles.

Things have gone surprisingly well for the Oilers to start the new season. Despite having all of Matt Savoie, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Frederik Andersen, and Jason Dickinson out with injuries, the team has a 2-0-1 record through the first three games of the schedule and is among the top of the NHL standings.

The longer they can keep their head above water with this shorthanded lineup, the better, as they appear to be getting a little healthier ahead of their upcoming California road trip. Dickinson was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice, where Mike Babcock showed off some new forward lines.

Bob Stauffer from 880 CHED relayed the lines on social media.

The lineup was more or less left untouched, with the only major difference being Dickinson skating on the second line alongside Trent Frederic and Kasperi Kapanen. It’s not yet known if the veteran centreman will make his season debut on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, but he will be travelling with the team.

“It’s been a good few weeks of getting my legs going and getting back up to pace, but I’m ready to get going,” Dickinson told reporters on Monday.

Dickinson suffered a setback in an injury sustained last season midway through training camp, and admitted to reporters on Monday that he never felt 100 per cent throughout the offseason.

If he is ready to go, the Oilers will need to send a player down to the AHL to make room for Dickinson. The revamped lineup could give a clue as to who that player could be, as Max Jones and Josh Samanski were rotating in the LW spot on the third line. Samanski was originally cut from training camp, but was recalled after Hyman went down with an injury, and is waiver-exempt, unlike Jones.

With Dickinson seemingly ready to make his season debut, all eyes will turn to Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman, who were given a timeline of two weeks by Babcock last week.

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