The Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets are back at it tonight, meeting for the second time in three days, but this one should look a lot more like a real preseason game. Edmonton dressed its top line in the first meeting, while Winnipeg rolled out mostly a non-NHL roster. Now both teams are expected to ice close to half their NHL group, which gives this one a very different feel even if the standings consequences are still nonexistent.
That’s exactly how the coaches want it. The focus is less on the score and more on how players handle their positions, structure and assignments.
For Edmonton, there’s already a sense that the top 11 forward spots are spoken for, leaving one of Mathieu Joseph, Josh Samanski and Max Jones headed to Bakersfield. Jones would seem the likeliest odd man out based on where he has lined up in practice, but that remains a projection.
Mike Babcock has also shown plenty of interest in Joseph, Colton Dach and Alex Formenton, a trio that may get one more preseason look against Calgary before opening the regular season together.
Babcock, though, made it clear he isn’t treating anything as settled. “It is an exhibition game, but I liked him.
He is big, runs over people, seems to know how to skate, stops on defense, forechecks, coachable…looks good to me,” Babcock said of Dach at centre. He also said he is still figuring out what he has, explaining that video can only tell him so much and that he needs to watch players from the bench to really understand them.
That uncertainty stretches across the lineup. Babcock has said it before, and it rings true here: he doesn’t know exactly what he has yet.
The combinations from camp are not guaranteed to last, and the early looks could change quickly once the games count. Dach could wind up better suited alongside Samanski down the middle, or he could keep growing into a centre role himself.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl may also spend stretches together and other times drive their own lines. If the rest of the group can hold up, avoid being outscored and contribute some offense, Babcock has the flexibility to keep his stars together.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is another piece Babcock clearly values. “Nuge is a worker,” Babcock said after yesterday’s practice.
“The problem is that if you play with Connor, and you’re being careful all the time and you’re watching, then you don’t look like the player you are. I don’t want him to play like that.
I want him to play full out and get after it.
“He’s going to be a massive part of things here. He’s beyond smart, maybe the best man in the middle on the power play in the National Hockey League, and he knows how to play with and without the puck. He’s a good leader and an important piece for us,” continued Babcock.
Even with that praise, the fit is still a puzzle. Nugent-Hopkins has not always been a major producer at 5×5, though he may be more engaged in the middle than on the wing.
There’s also a case for him as a third-line centre, and the possibility remains that Edmonton eventually rolls McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Dickinson down the middle. Add Matt Savoie back into the mix, and the Oilers suddenly have a long list of wingers to sort through: Zach Hyman, Vasily Podkolvin, Kasperi Kapanen, Isaac Howard, Trent Frederic, Colton Dach, Alex Formenton and Mathieu Joseph.
That kind of depth gives Babcock options, but it also means he’ll need time to keep testing combinations.
Tonight’s lineup gives another glimpse at that process. Howard, Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman form one line, with Frederic, Samanski and Kapanen on another.
Tralmaks, Marjala and Hutson are together, while Tassy, Michaels and Raty round out the forward groups. On defence, Walman and Murphy are paired, Mukhamadullin and Brown are together, and Leppanen and Carfagna make up the third pair.
Levi and Ungar are listed in goal.
Howard and Samanski are both playing their second preseason game, which is allowed since neither has reached 100 NHL games. Tralmaks is another name worth watching. He’s expected to start in the AHL, but the organization brought him in for depth and believes he can help at the NHL level if needed.
Walman is also a player drawing attention, though not always for the right reasons. There’s been a tendency among Oilers fans to pick a target when things go wrong, and with Darnell Nurse gone, Walman appears to be the name some have settled on.
He missed time in the 2025 playoffs, which affected his offseason training, and last year he was never at peak conditioning. This summer was different, and he says he feels great.
If he stays healthy, he should help the team, especially if conditioning is no longer an issue. He’s skilled, and while he wasn’t awful last season, he can be better this year.
He’ll likely need to be, because a segment of the fan base already has him in the crosshairs.
Winnipeg’s lineup is more NHL-heavy than the one it dressed Saturday. Barron, Lowry and Lambert are together, while Niederreiter, Yager and Iafallo make up another line.
Chibrikov, Chilkin and Ford are grouped as well, with Barlow, Wahlin and He filling out the forward lines. On defence, Samberg and Pionk are paired, Fleury and Bauer are together, and Phillips and Freij round things out.
DiVincentiis and Poulter are listed in goal.
The Jets still have a few camp battles of their own, especially on the fourth line, the third defence pair and in goal behind the starter situation involving Stuart Skinner, who is suspended and awaiting a trade.
The game-day prediction is a 3-2 Oilers road win, with the note that home teams have gone 10-4 in the first two nights of preseason hockey and both Edmonton and Winnipeg are 1-0 at home. The obvious prediction: Hyman scores on the power play.
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