The Oilers will have their pregame skate in Edmonton this morning, and then fly to Winnipeg this afternoon to take on the Jets. That would never happen in the regular season, but that’s life in the preseason.

For many of the veterans it is another opportunity to sharpen their skills, while those on the bubble hope to impress Dallas Eakins, and for some it is likely their final preseason game.

After Saturday’s split-squad games vs. the Flames the Oilers have had a few days to try and learn Eakins new systems. It will take a few games before every player is completely comfortable with the new system, so expect a few defensive breakdowns.

 When you look down tonight’s roster it seems easy to pick who falls into the category of veteran sharpening his skill, bubble boys and guys destined for reassignment.

Jones-Gagner-Omark
Joensuu-Lander-Pitlick
R. Hamilton-Arcobello-Yakupov
Moroz-Martindale-Abney

Smid-Petry
Grebeshkov-Klefbom
Larsen-Davidson

LaBarbera
Bachman

Gagner, Jones, Yakupov, Smid, Petry, Grebeshkov and LaBarbera are safe bets to be on the team.

Lander, Joensuu, Omark, Hamilton, Arcobello and Larsen are in battle for a roster spot up front or on the backend.

Martindale, Abney, Bachman, Pitlick and Davidson will be heading to OKC eventually.

It looks like Klefbom will start the season in OKC, which will allow him to get comfortable to the North American game, and I won’t be surprised if his recalled at some point this season.

Moroz will be heading back to junior, likely on Wednesday, and get set for the Oil Kings season opener this coming Friday.

Joensuu, Hamilton and Arcobello had strong first games, but playing well early in preseason isn’t as important as playing well late when the rosters are filled with more NHL caliber players. They will need to build on their strong start to stay ahead of the pack.

Omark, Lander and Larsen were okay in their debuts, but a strong performance tonight could put them right back on track. Tonight is Pitlick’s first opportunity to impress the coaches, and he feels he is ready to take a serious run at a roster spot. Davidson has impressed early in camp, but he’ll need some more seasoning in the AHL before he’s ready for a regular

Tonight’s game will be streamed live on the Oilers website at 6 p.m. MST.

Tonight’s lineup will come from this group of forwards and D-men. It sounds like the top three lines and top four D-men will dress, and then the 4th line and final D pairing will be decided at the morning skate. When I get confirmation I will edit the lineup to the usual 18 skaters.

***Edit*** Here is the Jets lineup.***

Kane-Jokinen-Setoguchi
Wright-Scheifele-Frolik
Telegin-Slater-Peluso
Tangradi-O’Dell-Klingberg

Byfuglien-Clitsome
Stuart-Postma
Trouba-Melchiori

Pavelec
Montoya

Yesterday on my radio show, Ryan Jones talked about gaining confidence, trying to get back to his style of play and the impact Eakins has had on the organization. 

Yeah we got a little bit better, we got younger, we got more skilled, but even in the locker room with the guys there were a lot of guys who seemed to talk the right game but nothing ever seemed to get done.

I haven’t heard Dallas say very many words outside of what you guys ask him, but he just does everything. He shows us in this locker room what he wants to be done by example. He wants something done, he goes out there, he shows us, we do it. And he demands that out of us. That’s what this locker room needs. He’s going to demand everything out of everybody and Dallas, as far as I can tell, is exactly that guy. From what I’ve heard, and briefly seen, he’s a player’s coach, he’s demanding and his accountability is second to none. 

Jones: [Laughs] They are fairly long, but you know what, they’re detailed and you’re not just out there wasting time. You’re never out there just doing a shooting drill to do a shooting drill. Everything that we did out there on the ice today was a team game, some sort of aspect of what we’re going to need to do to win and be a successful team. At the end we got to do a shoot a puck but everything else was a backcheck or a forecheck or faceoffs. There’s no wasted time when you’re out there and that’s good because it keeps you on your toes and it keeps your mind in every single practice, that’s what we need. We can’t have any guys sleeping at any point in time. 

Jones’ comments on Eakins being a doer, and not just a talker spoke volumes. I think we’d all agree that for the past few seasons we’ve heard a lot of talk, but we never saw the action match the words.

Eakins has shown he isn’t afraid to make changes. Will changing the paint and decor of a room make the Oilers play better on the ice, unlikely, but it illustrates that Eakins won’t be sticking with the status quo. Yesterday’s practice was uptempo the entire time, and it will be interesting to watch how they practice throughout the year.

I’ve written on many occasions the past few years how different the Oilers practices were compared to other teams. Chicago and Detroit had quicker paced practices, especially their puck drills.

He wants to change the culture in his dressing room, and he will make his players more accountable on the ice. He’s outlined a new workout routine that he expects the players to follow. He’s given them an outline for what he expects on practice days, as well as game days.

Some players won’t be impacted by the changes, because many of them had pre-skate work out routines as well as post-game routines, but it will be different for some. It is no longer optional.

RECENTLY BY JASON GREGOR