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Edmonton Oilers host Ducks to close out homestand

Anaheim Ducks' Rickard Rakell (67) and Edmonton Oilers' Andrej Sekera (2) battle for the puck during third period NHL action in Edmonton, Alta., on Saturday February 23, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Oilers forward Jujhar Khaira returns after missing five games with an injury when Edmonton hosts the Anaheim Ducks Saturday night at Rogers Place.

Khaira has battled a foot issue lately. He missed nine games in late February and early March, then came back to play six games. He hasn’t played since March 17 in Vegas.

“It’s just something that’s been going on a for a little bit now,” explained Khaira. “It’s one of those things that acts up once in a while. I needed some time to do some maintenance and bring it back to where it was.”

This is the final meeting of the season between the Oilers and Ducks. The Oilers have scored 2-1 and 4-0 wins while Anaheim has a 2-1 victory to its credit.

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“In the games I’ve coached, neither team gives up much. It’s kind of close-to-the-vest hockey,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock. “The games in Anaheim were really physical games. They had a real edge to them. I don’t think either team had much room out there.”

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WATCH (March 26): Sport Central hosts equipment drive in honour of former Oiler Dave Semenko

Click to play video: 'Sport Central hosts equipment drive in honour of former Oiler Dave Semenko'
Sport Central hosts equipment drive in honour of former Oiler Dave Semenko

The Oilers’ expected lineup is:

Draisaitl – McDavid – Kassian

Gambardella – Nugent-Hopkins – Chiasson

Khaira – Cave – Gagner

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Lucic – Brodziak – Rieder

Klefbom – Larsson

Nurse – Russell

Sekera – Benning

Koskinen

The Face-off Show on 630 CHED starts at 6:30 p.m. The game begins at 8 p.m.

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