The Edmonton Oilers are facing a curious start to their 2026-27 NHL season.
Two days after taking on the Vancouver Canucks to open the campaign, they get to play the Canucks again.
The home-and-home mini-series between the Oilers and Canucks gets its second stanza on Thursday, and if it’s anything like the first go-round, it should be quite exciting.
The Canucks opened up a surprising 5-2 lead on Tuesday night before the Oilers stormed back to tie it 5-5.
Vancouver, though, won the game in overtime 6-5.
Evan Bouchard had five points for the Oilers, including a hat trick of goals.
The Canucks, viewed around the league as a rebuilding team, made a quick statement.
Whether or not Vancouver can follow that up on Thursday night remains to be seen, but the Oilers will look at least a little different.
After placing three players on injured reserve earlier on Thursday, it looks like they’re set to make a bold call with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Oilers Make Bold McDavid, Draisaitl Decision
If morning skate is any indication, the Oilers plan to use McDavid and Draisaitl on the same even-strength line on Thursday night.
This is how they lined up at morning skate in Vancouver:
The @EdmontonOilers morning skate in Vancouver:
Podkolzin-McDavid-Draisaitl
Jones-Dach-Kapanen
Formenton-Michaels-Joseph
Howard-Samanski-FredericEkholm-Bouchard
Shea-Murphy
Walman-MukhamadullinLevi
(Zach Hyman not on trip. Mike Babcock will update after practice)
— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) October 1, 2026
In normal circumstances, McDavid is the anchor of one line and Draisaitl leads another.
They then join forces on a regular basis on the power play.
McDavid and Draisaitl are Edmonton’s two highest-paid and most-accomplished forwards by far, but since they can both play center, the Oilers spread out their production so that they have two strong lines instead of just one.
It looks like they’re taking a different approach Thursday in Vancouver, though. It’s just game two, but coming off a loss, the Oilers seem set to spam the combination of McDavid and Draisaitl early and often.
Not Entirely Unusual
Edmonton does do this already at even strength in big games when they might need a goal late. McDavid and Draisaitl certainly have plenty of chemistry.
But if these are the lines they roll with on Thursday night, it feels just a tiny bit drastic.
The Oilers run the risk of three of their lines being relatively underwhelming and needing to rush their superstars back on the ice.
The last thing they need in game two is to overuse anyone and cause injuries, especially considering all the guys who are already hurt.
Clearly, Edmonton is planning to use the studs together for a good chunk of Thursday night. Oilers fans will just have to wait and see how that works out.
Oilers Make Bold Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl Decision