Draisaitl and Pickard the Big Storylines as Oilers Play the Predators

The Edmonton Oilers are going with almost an identical lineup in their Thursday night matchup with the Nashville Predators. The top line of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman stays the same, as do the rest of the forwards. The coaches are running it back with the same defensive pairings. The only change is in goal, where Calvin Pickard will get the start against the 0-3 Predators. The big storylines of the night will be Draisaitl and Pickard as both look to respond after tougher outings.

Two struggling teams, the Oilers broke their winless streak with an overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Predators — also pegged to be contenders this season — are looking for their first win.

This is the first road game of the season for the Oilers. They did not start out well at home, but their record versus the Predators has been good. Specifically, Leon Draisaitl has 9-11-20 in the last seven games played versus Nashville. That might be key coming off a game where Draisaitl was benched for a couple of shifts after looking disinterested and taking a bad penalty. He stormed back with a beauty assist and the game-winning goal in overtime.

The hope is that he’s unlocked something offensively and was woken up by the coach’s message.

Pickard Needs a Bounceback Performance for the Oilers

When asked about his less-than-stellar start to the season, Pickard was honest about his game. He’s looking forward to the opportunity to put up better numbers.

“It’s a good chance to bounce back for me personally,” he told the media on Thursday. “Not the start I wanted against Chicago but you have to have a short-term memory in this league.”

Pickard has a 4.17 goals-against average and a .778 save percentage in two appearances this season. He needs to be a lot more reliable if the Oilers are going to be able to use him as a steady backup this season.

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