Edmonton Oilers News

Smith allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Flames loss to the Wild on Saturday. The Flames have leaned heavily on Smith to start the season and tonight he will make his ninth consecutive start. Smith has gone 3-1-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .957 SV% in four starts on the road this season. Tonight he takes on a Predators team that is 25th in scoring so far (2.63 GF/PG).

The Canucks did not have an update on Stecher post-game, but head coach Travis Green said “it was a knee-on-knee hit, so we’ll see what happens.” Consider Stecher as questionable for Tuesday's game in Minnesota.

Draisaitl will not be in the lineup tonight vs. the Blackhawks, but it sounds like he could be back in the Oilers lineup as soon as Saturday. His return will be huge for the struggling Oilers, so monitor his status leading up to this weekend’s meeting with the Flyers.

Smith allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Flames win in Vancouver last Saturday. Smith’s Flames career has gotten off to a great start—he has won four of his six starts while posting a 2.59 GAA and .929 SV%. Tonight he will make his seventh consecutive start and will take on a Carolina team that is 21st in scoring (2.75 GF/PG) through just four games.

Draisaitl missed Saturday’s game vs. Ottawa and has already been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest. Draisaitl’s move to IR is likely retroactive to October 11th, when he first missed practice. The move shouldn’t have any affect on when he returns to the lineup.

Draisaitl missed practice on Monday and will miss his second game in a row on Tuesday. The Oilers’ star forward remains day-to-day and the Oilers will re-evaluate him before deciding whether or not he will travel with the team on their upcoming road-trip.

Malone has recorded three points (2G / 1A) in three games with Bakersfield and could make his Oilers debut on Tuesday. Malone has been recalled because Leon Draisaitl (concussion) is on IR and Drake Caggiula (undisclosed) is also sidelined.

Draisaitl has missed three practices in a row and will be held out of the lineup with an eye injury that he suffered when he was high-sticked on Monday. With Drasaitl out, Kailer Yamamoto is expected to play on the Oilers’ top line.

Smith allowed three goals on 45 shots in the Flames’ overtime win in Los Angeles on Wednesday. After losing on opening night, Smith has won three in a row while stopping 110 of 116 shots (.948 SV%). Moving to Calgary was supposed to lessen Smith’s workload, but he has now faced a whopping 40.0 shots per game through four outings.

Smith stopped all 43 shots that he faced in the Flames shutout win over the Ducks on Monday. It was a sensational performance from the first-year Flame, who is now 2-1-0 with a 1.68 GAA, .957 SV% and one shutout in his first three starts this season. Tonight he takes on a Kings team that has started the season 2-0-0 with 3.00 goals for per game.

Smith gave up three goals on 28 shots in the Flames’ win over the Jets on Saturday. Smith’s Flames career has gotten off to a great start, as he has stopped 67 of 72 shots (.931 SV%) that he has faced through two starts. Tonight he will start in Anaheim, where the Flames have had basically no success for years.

Smith allowed just two goals on 44 shots in the Flames 3-0 opening night loss in Edmonton. Smith was exceptional in his Calgary debut but the Flames had no answers for Connor McDavid, who recorded a hat trick on the night. Smith will look to record his first ‘W’ in a Flames uniform when they host the Jets tonight.

Pickard was placed on waivers on Thursday and cleared Friday afternoon. The Maple Leafs waited for him to clear because now they can send him to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and keep him in their system. This is a smart move for Toronto, who’s current backup goaltender is veteran Curtis McElhinney, who has had his fair-share of struggles during his career.

Kulak, who had 10 points (2G / 8A) in 22 AHL games and three assists in 21 NHL games a season ago was expected to be in the opening night lineup, but Matt Barkowski will get the first crack alongside Michael Stone tonight.