Oilers return to Edmonton for heavy run of home dates

Fans take their seats before the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers NHL game in Edmonton on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

They’re coming home, sweet home for the next three weeks.

Besides a jaunt to Vancouver this coming Saturday and a trip down the highway to Calgary at the end of the stretch, the Edmonton Oilers will play nine of the 11 games they have remaining before the Olympic break starts (on Feb. 5) at Rogers Place, where they’ve gone 11-5-4 this season heading into Thursday’s game against the visiting New York Islanders (7 p.m.)

And they could use more home cooking. Of the 47 games the Oilers (23-16-8) have played this regular season, 27 of them have been away from home, including their most recent pair: A Tuesday night overtime loss to the Nashville Predators and a Monday win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Oilers captain Connor McDavid told media on Thursday after his team’s morning skate he’s looking forward to mostly sticking around the city for the next couple of weeks.

“The travel is hard on the body. The schedule has been crazy,” said McDavid, who will travel to Italy to play for Team Canada at the Winter Games. “This week’s been crazy for us, too, so getting a chance just to be in your own bed, get into a good routine, get into a good rhythm, playing every other day, that’ll be great.”

Tuesday’s game in Nashville saw Zach Hyman score twice on the power play, Leon Draisaitl record a goal and two assists, and McDavid also getting two assists in the 4-3 OT loss for the Oilers, who are 3-0-2 in their last five outings. Goalie Tristan Jarry made 23 saves in his return to the team’s lineup after missing 11 games recovering from an injury.

The Oilers are 15-5-3 in games following losses this season, a record mirroring a response after losses that defenceman Darnell Nurse says “is a good sign.”

“It’s important that you grab back a hold of your game,” Nurse said. “Obviously, you want to be as consistent as you can be.”

Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said the Oilers have “done a really good job of bouncing back” when faced with the prospect of losses piling up.

“It’s something we talk about, for sure,” said Nugent-Hopkins, who will play his 998th career National Hockey League game on Thursday, with nos. 999 and 1,000 potentially this weekend against the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues. “Sometimes, it starts with just playing a bit of a simpler game, and the next one to start and just using our speed and stuff.”

Ingram gets start

Connor Ingram will start in goal for the Oilers, a game after Jarry made his return to the active roster.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch said Ingram has provided the Oilers “steady goaltending.”

“Connor’s played very well,” Knoblauch said. “I think all but one start has been very solid. Some games have been really good. The last one against Chicago, I thought that was his best.”

The Oilers will continue to carry three goalies – Ingram, Jarry and Calvin Pickard – on the roster, a rare occurrence, for the foreseeable future, he said, adding the coaching staff “wants to be careful” with Jarry’s playing time since he’s coming back from an injury.

“This is typically a game that (Jarry) could have started, but he just come back from injury, (so we’re) giving him a little more time between games,” Knoblauch said. “We’re not really set on exactly how we’re going to do this (with) three goalies, and if it’s for the rest of the season, for the next couple of weeks, for a couple months ... but right now, we’re playing it day by day.”

Projected Oilers lineup

Forward

• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins • Connor McDavid • Zach Hyman
• Vasily Podkolzin • Leon Draisaitl • Kasperi Kapanen
• Isaac Howard • Jack Roslovic • Matt Savoie
• Mattias Janmark • Curtis Lazar • Trent Frederic

Defence

• Mattias Ekholm • Evan Bouchard
• Darnell Nurse • Ty Emberson
• Jake Walman • Spencer Stastney

Goal

• Connor Ingram • Tristan Jarry