THURSDAY CONTENT
All the coverage from Thursday
"He's so smart," Kassian said of his centre. "He can read, react, make plays. It helps me."
As a unit during Oilers Training Camp and in the subsequent exhibition season, the trio has gelled. And although it is the pre-season, where games are meaningless and the points don't matter, there's a sense of belief among the three players that they can and will be one of the premier checking lines of the National Hockey League in 2017-18.
"I would put us up against any other fourth line," said Kassian. "We can dominate that role. We still need to feel each other out a little more but the way we skate, the way we protect pucks, that's what you want out of a fourth line."
Letestu shares the lead in points for the Oilers this pre-season, having deposited three goals and one assist in the two games he's dressed in. Khaira is having a good exhibition campaign himself with two goals in two games, while Kassian recorded an assist on a nice feed to Khaira Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
In all, the three combined to produce four points in Wednesday's 4-1 win, foreshadowing glimpses of what could be seen during the regular season.
"Deep teams have deep rosters," Kassian said. "You look at Pittsburgh and teams that go far in the playoffs. You need deep teams to be successful not only in the regular season but come playoff time. Right now, we're just trying to work and get to know each other to the best of our ability and we'll see what happens come October 4, but we feel comfortable playing with each other."