The two defenceman acquired in trades by the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday will play Monday night at Rogers Place against Winnipeg.
Alexander Petrovic comes over from Florida, while Brandon Manning was picked up from Chicago.
With long-term injuries to Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera, Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli felt it was vital to add to the back end. The Oilers have just one win in their last seven games and have allowed 31 goals in that span.
Listen below: Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli speaks to reporters on Monday.
“We felt it was imperative that we shore up our defence right now at this critical juncture in the season,” said Chiarelli.
“These aren’t top four defencemen, but they are good, solid defenders. They both defend hard. They both move well.”
Petrovic is from Edmonton and played in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels.
“I think I add good value defensively. My main role is to play good defence and make it hard for the other team’s top players,” he said.
Manning has been a villain in oil country ever since taking Connor McDavid into the boards in McDavid’s rookie season. McDavid suffered a broken collarbone.
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers’ 2018-19 season.
In later meetings against Manning, who was with Philadelphia at the time, McDavid was seen trash-talking him.
“It was a long time ago,” said McDavid. “It doesn’t matter. I think he’s going to come in and going to help.”
Both Petrovic and Manning had often been healthy scratches with their previous clubs. Chiarelli believes Manning fell out of favour in Chicago after the Blackhawks made a coaching change.
Time will tell if the Oilers improve defensively, but problems persist on offence as well. With Drake Caggiula traded to Chicago and Alex Chiasson injured, the Oilers’ fourth-highest scoring forward has three goals this season.
“They’ve got to pick it up. There’s no question they’ve got to pick it up,” said Chiarelli. “We’re in the bottom quarter of the league in goals scored. But we have to shore up our goals against.”
Kailer Yamamoto won’t play because of an upper body injury.
Joseph Gambardella will make his NHL debut after being called up from Bakersfield, Calif. He leads the Condors in scoring with 21 points in 28 games.
“It’s still a really big adrenaline rush. The last 24 hours have been realizing my dream becoming a reality,” said Gambardella.
Catch the Oilers and Jets on 630 CHED with the Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. The game will start at 7 p.m.