The pre-season rosters iced by the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks were very different on Thursday night.

For Edmonton, it was a lineup largely made up of players set to play for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Combined, 62 NHL goals and 912 games between the 20 players dressed.

For the Canucks? It was largely their NHL roster. 1,277 NHL goals and 6,789 games.

As one would expect, the Oilers won 2-1. It might be a long season in Vancouver.

But Edmonton’s win wasn’t free, far from it. They had to work for it, and that caught the eye of Oilers head coach Mike Babcock.

“Coming in, we’re undermanned and obviously outmatched,” he said. “But I thought our guys played with good determination. Got some good saves from Jars (Tristan Jarry), didn’t give up a ton, but worked real hard.”

That hard work paid off. Winger Isaac Howard, who needed a strong game after two lacklustre pre-season affairs, had just that, showing off his shooting talent by picking up a puck in the offensive zone and getting a shot off just as quickly to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead in the first period. In the second frame, he notched an assist, helping set up what would be Quinn Hutson’s game-winning goal.

And to boot, he had seven shots on goal.

It’s the type of game that’s going to go a long way for the winger. While he likely was going to start the season in Edmonton either way, the confidence boost from Thursday’s game was needed.

So too was another strong performance from netminder Tristan Jarry, turning aside 25 of 26 shots for a stellar .962 save percentage. Now, through two tune-ups, he’s posted a .952 save percentage, making 40 saves on 42 shots against.

Safe to say he was pleased with the performance in front of him.

“I thought the kids played great in front,” he said. “They worked their butts off in the offensive zone, the defensive zone. They were doing everything right.

“I think just everything we’ve been going through in practice, they really implemented tonight. I think they did a great job.”

It was a busy summer for Jarry. After not getting much time with Oilers goalie coach Peter Aubry, that changed since last season ended, and Jarry is crediting their work for where he feels his game is at now, less than a week from the start of the season.

“I think that was a big summer for me,” he said. “They obviously wanted me to come in and work hard, and I think I was able to do that. I think Pete and I had a good summer, just learning from each other and kind of getting to know each other a lot better. And I think just being able to do that without the pressure of the season, I think, went a long way.”

The Oilers need it to go a long way. After being acquired by the team last December and getting hurt in just his third start, he never found his way, and by season’s end, posted worse numbers than Stuart Skinner, who went the other way in the deal.

With Freddie Andersen down and injured, the Oilers will be relying on Jarry and Devon Levi to carry the load.

Last night was another step in the right direction.

Zach Laing is Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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