The Edmonton Oilers are ready to get back to game action after three days of intense practices. They’ll host the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Place on Saturday night. The Sens are flying high, sitting at 2-0-2 after trampling the Calgary Flames 6-0 Friday night.
“Good team – everybody playing the way they need to play, everybody following a system they obviously believe in,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said of the Senators on Saturday. “They’re well-equipped to beat anybody in the league. They have a strong belief system. They’re a tough team to play against.”
The Oilers will be without forward Leon Draisaitl, who didn’t practice all week. McLellan says Draisaitl was shaken up Monday night against Winnipeg after being hit by Jacob Trouba.
READ MORE: Leon Draisaitl out as Edmonton Oilers wrap up three days of hard practice
“He had an eye injury,” McLellan said. “Eye was swollen shut. Obviously, the eye is attached to the head which leads to concussion-type symptoms now. That’s what we’re dealing with. He won’t play tonight.”
Yohann Auvitu will make his Oilers debut in a defence pairing with Eric Gryba.
“He is mostly defensive-minded when I think I’m mostly offensive-minded,” Auvitu said. “It’s a good match, but I think it’s a little too early to say we’ve created chemistry yet.”
The Oilers are 1-2 on the season. Their expected lineup is:
Maroon – McDavid – Yamamoto
Lucic – Nugent-Hopkins – Kassian
Jokinen – Strome – Slepyshev
Khaira – Letestu – Pakarinen
Klefbom – Larsson
Nurse – Russell
Auvitu – Benning
Talbot
Catch the Oilers and Senators on 630 CHED at 8 p.m. following the Edmonton Eskimos game.
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers’ 2017-18 season.
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Edmonton Oilers’ McDavid clocked going over 40 km/h while scoring goal against the Calgary Flames -
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Oilers speak to reporters after winning home opener against the Flames -
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19-year-old Kailer Yamamoto’s first Oilers game -
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Edmonton Oilers kick off NHL season with Battle of Alberta -
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A look at the Edmonton Oilers defence ahead of their final pre-season game -
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Edmonton Oilers still experimenting with different lines ahead of NHL regular season -
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Edmonton Oilers blank the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 in NHL pre-season action
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