After getting hammered in their season-opener by a score of 6-0 on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers will host the Chicago Blackhawks with both teams seeking their first win of the 2024-25 season.

1. The Hawks were the second-worst team in the NHL last season with a 23-53-6 record, finishing dead last in the league in goals with 179 and 29th in goals against with 290. The organization spent a considerable amount of money in the off-season to add some depth around first-overall pick Connor Bedard in his sophomore season.

Tyler Bertuzzi cashed in on the one-year deal that he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer and inked a four-year, $22 million contract with Chicago. Teuvo Teravainen signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract to rejoin the team that originally drafted him following eight seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hawks also rounded out their bottom-six forward group with the additions of Ilya Mikheyev, Pat Maroon, and Craig Smith.

Two-time Stanley Cup winner Alec Martinez signed a one-year deal and has been paired with Seth Jones on Chicago’s top defensive pairing. Veteran defender T.J. Brodie inked a two-year contract and has been playing on the second pairing with Alex Vlasic.

Former Oiler Laurent Brossoit signed a two-year, $6.6 million deal with the Hawks in the off-season after being part of the goaltending duo that allowed the fewest goals in the league last year. He underwent knee surgery in August and isn’t expected to make his debut with the team until later in the month.

2. Through two games, the new-look Hawks own a 0-1-1 record. Petr Mrazek started in net for Chicago in their first game of the season earlier this week and allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club. Arvid Soderbolm played in their second game against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday and turned aside 33 of 35 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss.

It’s expected that Mrazek will start on Saturday and that Calvin Pickard will go for the Oilers. Edmonton is hosting the Calgary Flames on Sunday and it seems Stuart Skinner will get the nod for the second leg of this weekend’s back-to-back.

3. Even though they’re going up against a weak opponent, the Oilers can’t come out with the same effort that they had against Winnipeg on Wednesday. The team looked like they were still in pre-season mode and the Jets rolled over them in a 6-0 victory.

Skinner struggled mightily with five goals against and only eight saves but that loss wasn’t just because of poor goaltending. The Oilers were slow to pucks and gave the Jets plenty of space when they were attacking. Edmonton also couldn’t move the puck up ice effectively or maintain consistent possession in Winnipeg’s zone for more than half of the game.

That version of the Oilers was very far from the best the team can be and it’s a reminder that they aren’t going to be able to coast through the season just because they’re favoured to win the Stanley Cup. Other teams in the league will have games against Edmonton circled on their calendars as an opportunity to prove themselves and the Oilers have to be prepared to match that energy.

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