PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Stars

The Edmonton Oilers will wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday night at Rogers Place against the Dallas Stars.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet West at 8:00 MST or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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EDMONTON, AB – When the Stars align, expect sparks to fly.

After taking down the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime on Thursday, the Edmonton Oilers will try to put together consecutive victories when they wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday night at Rogers Place versus the Dallas Stars.

“If you're letting in two goals or less a game, the chances are you're going to win it,” said Evan Bouchard, who potted the overtime winner against Montreal Thursday. “I think playing defence was the biggest thing that we were missing the past six or seven games, so that was a big one for us.”

Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 46th goal of the season to extend his point streak to 13 games, totalling 11 goals and nine assists. This marks his fifth-career point streak for the German of at least 13 games, reaching 14 games twice over his 11 seasons spent in the NHL.

Corey Perry scored his 14th goal of the season against the Canadiens, and with Dallas up next, he will face one of his former clubs for the third consecutive game (Anaheim, Montreal, Dallas). He ranks second in the NHL in goals among players averaging 12:00 or less of ice time per game, trailing only Adam Gaudette (16).

Stuart Skinner made 23 saves for his 21st win of the season, earning praise and trust from Oilers management to carry on as the team's number-one goaltender alongside Calvin Pickard past Friday's Trade Deadline with 20 more regular-season games to go before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I think with our two goalies, probably the last stretch hasn't been their best, and that's probably why there's a lot of attention," Oilers GM & Executive VP of Hockey Operations Stan Bowman said. "But I try to look at things over a bigger sample, and I think if you break up [the season], we had a slow start, and I think our goalies didn't get out of the gate strong... I do think that last night was a pretty good reference point. I think that's what we can see. I thought Stu made a lot of saves for us and it’s an important position, absolutely."

“We're trying not to put so much pressure on them that they have to save games for us, and I think we did a good job of that as a team for those stretches where our goaltending performed well."

Max Jones, who made his Oilers debut on Thursday following a trade from Boston along with forward Trent Frederic, notched his first point in Blue & Orange with a heads-up pass off the rush to Corey Perry, who finished the play. The two forwards were teammates in Anaheim and found instant chemistry, with Jones becoming the third Edmonton player this season to score on his debut (Noah Philp & Matt Savoie)

"I was thinking that pass usually isn't something a fourth line should be making coming out of the zone like that," Jones said. "But I just saw him skating so fast, I didn't even know if it was Perrs. I was joking with him. I was like, 'I don't remember you skating that fast in Anaheim.'

"He was just like, 'Come on, give me a break.' But he was flying, so I just flicked it over there and got lucky."

Oilers GM Stan Bowman also confirmed Friday that Evander Kane will miss the rest of the regular season, and his timeline for when he returns in the playoffs is unknown. The 33-year-old scored 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular season games last year, followed by four goals and four assists in 20 appearances during the 2024 Playoffs.

"We don't exactly know when that will be. It's not going to be in the regular season," Bowman said. "Will it be at the start of the playoffs? He will definitely be back playing for us this year, so he's got a lot of elements that can be game-changing."

Having the ability to place Kane on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), management utilized that extra cap space before the Trade Deadline by acquiring defenceman Jake Walman for a first-round pick and prospect Carl Berglund at midnight on Thursday.

The Toronto native has scored six goals and 26 assists for a career-high 32 points in 50 games with the Sharks this season, and 31 goals and 52 assists over 252 career NHL games with San Jose, Detroit and St. Louis. Oilers management didn't hesitate going out and getting their guy by paying the price necessary to Sharks GM Mike Grier to add Walman's talents and contract, which will pay him a cap hit of $3.4 million for this season and next.

"I think that was a big part of the reason we got Walman was because we stepped up and gave him a first rounder, and I don't know if they had that from other teams," Bowman said. "But I think that's what ultimately got it done for us. We didn't mess around and try to get too cute with it. We saw a player we valued and we went out and got them. So first-round picks are valuable, but players are even more valuable for where we are, so we were aggressive on that front."

Walman will wear number 96 for the Oilers, which has never been worn before in the franchise's history.

Meanwhile, another familiar number 96 will be on the ice on Saturday night in superstar Mikko Rantanen, who's set to make his Dallas Stars debut against the Oilers after being traded again from the Carolina Hurricanes and signing a brand-new eight-year deal with the Stars worth $96 million ($12 million AAV).

Rantanen, a Nousiainen, Finland native, will be playing for his third team this season (Colorado, Carolina, Dallas) and has posted 27 goals and 70 points in 62 games. His plus/minus of +9 so far this season would be his lowest plus/minus since the 2019/2020 season.

After weighing his options leading up to the Deadline, Rantanen ultimately chose Dallas considering both his career and life beyond hockey and will look to obtain his second career Stanley Cup ring with the Stars.

“I had to think about my life not only on the ice, but off the ice,” Rantanen said on Friday. “It wasn’t just one team -- you look around and try to see what’s best for you. I am really excited to be a part of this group.”

The Stars currently sit with the second-best record in the Central Division and the third-best overall in the NHL. Jason Robertson (64 points in 62 games) and Matt Duchene (63 points in 62 games) are both bumping along above a point per game pace.

Wyatt Johnston, 21 just inked a five-year extension worth $42 million ($8.4 million AAV) on Friday to be a big part of Dallas' future and has 59 points in 62 games this season.