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Oilers making surprise lineup decision on opening night

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
|
Oct 9 2024, 5:33 pm
Oilers making surprise lineup decision on opening night
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers are making a surprise lineup decision ahead of their season-opener against the Winnipeg Jets tonight.

As fans anxiously await piling into Rogers Place to cheer on their team for the first time since last year’s Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton’s blueline will see an unexpected face draw in.

Fresh off signing a one-year contract with the club, defenceman Travis Dermott will make his Oilers debut tonight, playing on the team’s third pair alongside Brett Kulak. The 27-year-old has beaten out both Josh Brown and Troy Stecher for that opening night spot after parlaying a successful PTO into a contract.

Outside of that, the only other notable lineup decision that may come as a bit of a surprise is who will be playing LW on Edmonton’s second line alongside Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson. Knoblauch said that the team won’t be committing to either player on any given night but that Jeff Skinner will get the nod tonight with Draisaitl.

The rest of the lineup appears to be unchanged, with the dynamic top line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, and Zach Hyman sticking together. Following a great playoff performance last season, Janmark will stick with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown on the third line.

Newcomer Vasily Podkolzin will make his debut on the fourth line next to veterans Derek Ryan and Corey Perry. On the blueline, Darnell Nurse is expected to line up with trade addition Ty Emberson on the second pair.

This is what fans can expect the full Oilers lineup to look like tonight:

It will be a late game to start off the season, with puck drop set for 8 pm MT.

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