The second-to-last pre-season tune-up for the Edmonton Oilers is set for tonight as they head west and visit the Vancouver Canucks.

For a few players, it might be their last chance to make their mark.

Tonight’s game will be crucial for Howard, who hasn’t impressed in the first two pre-season games. He’s played the most minutes of any Oilers forward, and only has one shot on four shot attempts in his 30:30. Not helping his case is the fact that the team has been caved in with him on the ice at five-on-five, outchanced 17-7 and holding a 28.44 per cent expected goal share.

Known for his offensive prowess, Howard has struggled when the puck isn’t on his stick. Learning how to get it back is what Oilers head coach Mike Babcock wants to see from him.

“It’s a miserable league if you’re an offensive guy and you’re just arriving and they won’t give you the puck,” said Babcock. “You’ve got to figure out how to get the puck back, so that’s why he gets a chance to play over and over again. We like how hard he works, we like how he prepared, we like what he’s doing. He still hasn’t figured out how to have the puck all the time, so that’s the challenge for him.”

Tonight, Howard will play on the Oilers’ top line alongside Owen Michaels and Quinn Hutson.

Many expected Samanski to be a lineup lock after a solid showing last season with the Oilers. While his two goals and four points didn’t jump out in any way, the 24-year-old’s underlying metrics were solid. That was promising to see from the rookie.

Similarly to Howard, Samanski hasn’t had as strong a showing in the pre-season as some had hoped, and there’s a chance he gets jumped on the depth chart by Colton Dach, a winger turned centre. That isn’t a lock by any means, but Babcock and co.’s decision to have Dach switch positions isn’t something they would do if they just planned on him being a winger all along. After all, he’s still young at just 23 years old.

Samanski could still make the Oilers roster as the 13th forward, and a solid performance tonight could help in that regard. He’ll skate on the second line with Max Jones and Aku Raty.

Cibulka is a guy I’m going to have an eye on tonight. Signed out of Czechia earlier this year, he’ll be making his pro debut in North America with the Bakersfield Condors this fall. He put up solid offensive numbers in Czechia’s top league, scoring 13 goals and 42 points in 90 games over the last two years, and came in as Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s 19th-ranked prospect in the Oilers system.

A strong, confident skater with some offensive flair, I’ll be curious to see how he looks tonight.

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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