After almost five months off, Edmonton Oilers hockey is officially back.
The Oilers kicked off their preseason in style, defeating the Winnipeg Jets by a 5-2 scoreline.
While it is worth noting that this is only preseason and that things can change easily in the lead-up to the regular season, there are nonetheless things that one can analyze from the team's performance. From watching the game, I was able to interpret one major takeaway in addition to three smaller notes.
Bouchard-Shea might be a mainstay
As training camp began, head coach Mike Babcock made the decision to split the longtime pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, inserting newly-signed Ryan Shea onto the top pair with the former.
Saturday's game proved that Babcock's decision might have been a bold one. Both Shea and Bouchard recorded multi-point performances against Winnipeg; Shea recorded a goal and two assists, while Bouchard added four assists. At the same time, both defensemen recorded a combined five shots on goal.
While it is too early to tell if Babcock will keep this line together, the case for this line is there. Not only is the pairing creating goal contributions, but they were also two of three full-time Oilers defensemen to play in the win over the Jets; the third was Ty Emberson, who played with Spencer Statsney on the second line. The third line featured Riley Stillman and Joshua Brown.
The newly-formed line of Ekholm and Connor Murphy might very well get a look on Tuesday or Thursday, but it's safe to say that Babcock will keep Bouchard and Shea together for the bulk of preseason.
Speed, speed, speed
For a few moments, it felt like mid-season Oilers hockey and not the first preseason game.
Some proof of this took the form of the Oilers players putting their 110% in when it came to skating and getting up and down the ice. Alex Formenton was proof of this; while his off-ice issues must not be disregarded in any way, shape, or form, he did score his goal off a breakaway. At the same time, he created a late-second-period scoring chance off a rush chance.
Depth/non-roster players getting chances
I mentioned this to an extent earlier by discussing Stillman and Brown's involvement.
But other young stars and non-roster players got their chance to shine on Saturday. Colton Dach, who recorded four points in eight games last season, recorded the empty-net score to seal the game. Meanwhile, Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski found themselves on a middle-six pairing with non-roster forward Max Jones, while others like Owen Michaels and Bakersfield Condors forward Seth Griffith earned playing time.
Does this mean such players will make the cut on opening night? Not necessarily; rotating non-roster players and draft picks in and out of the lineup is quite common for preseason fixtures. Unless certain players get a significant amount of minutes towards the end of preseason, expect heavy rotation.
Oilers auditioning goaltenders?
Both Matt Tomkins and Tristan Jarry earned playing time against the Jets; the former recorded a .800 save percentage on five shots, while the latter recorded a .938 save percentage on 16 total shots faced.
While Jarry's place on the opening night lineup is all but secure, it is interesting to see who that second or third netminder will be to start the season. There's a pretty decent chance that Devon Levi is the direct backup to Jarry, and the Oilers could always go with two goaltenders to start the year. That said, instead of going with Jarry and Levi and calling it a day, it seems that the Oilers are open to running a trio throughout the season and having Tomkins, Connor Ungar, Nathaniel Day, and Samuel Jonsson compete for the final spot.
Again, it is the first preseason game, so it's important to take this with a grain of salt. But we could be looking at a goaltending trio throughout the 2026-27 campaign.
What's next?
The Oilers' second preseason contest will take place on Tuesday in Winnipeg. Puck drop at the Canada Life Centre is set for 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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