PREVIEW: Oilers at Predators

The Oilers are set to play their first road game of the season on Thursday night as they open a two-game trip in the Music City against the Predators.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 5:00 pm MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck-drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

The Oilers arrive in the Music City with a little rhythm from their first win of the season as they prepare for their first game away from Rogers Place, hoping to continue their dominance against Nashville on Thursday after winning 10 of their last 12 matchups against the Central Division side.

Leon Draisaitl — to some, known as the Mayor of Nashville — is probably the last person Predators fans want to see at Bridgestone Arena with their team still searching for its first win. ‘Drat’ (his most common nickname) recorded his 14th career overtime winner on Tuesday night, which is second-most in franchise history behind only McDavid, who Draisaitl was quick to acknowledge following the win.

“It was a nice backcheck by 97,” Draisaitl said as he answered questions from the media in his dressing room stall. “Good save by ‘Stuey’ and a nice pass by Connor. I was fortunate to put that in.”

Draisaitl puts the puck in a lot, especially against the Predators. He has a remarkable 42 career points in 26 games against Nashville. However, these numbers only get more impressive when you look at recent history — 33 points (19G, 14A) in his last 12 games versus the Predators.

Mayor-like qualities.

On Tuesday night, Edmonton was able to showcase more of its quality on the ice against Philadelphia, despite some arguable calls that went against them.

Stuart Skinner, who allowed two goals on eight shots in the opening 9:21 of regulation, went on to have a solid night despite a slow start. The soon-to-be 26-year-old went on to stop 21 of the next 22 shots, many in a timely fashion as his team found a way to comeback and defeat the Flyers 4-3 in ovettime.

If he gets the tap on Thursday, Skinner will suit up against Nashville for just the second time in his career (1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .966 SV%).

Adam Henrique and Connor Brown look to continue their strong starts to the campaign. It can be argued they have been the Oilers' most consistent performers to start. The pair chipped in with a goal apiece on Tuesday, both in the second period on a sequence that saw Edmonton erase a two-goal deficit.

When asked about what’s allowed the pair to sustain success:

“Brownie just needed a little Rico in his life,” laughed Adam Henrique.

“I certainly did,” chuckled Brown during his media availability.

Opening the season with three straight losses on home ice wasn’t in anyone’s plans, but good teams know how to deal with misfortune.

“There’s no panic in here,” explained Brown. “We’re confident in the character of our group. We’re confident in the abilities here. We just need to get the ball rolling in the right direction.”

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch also spoke about the process over the last seven days — from puck drop versus Winnipeg to victory over the Flyers.

“I think we’re getting a little more focused, ramping up our intensity. You saw the emotion in the third period. A couple of fights. We came back … you could see how fired up the building was and the bench.”

With Stecher and Perry dropping the gloves in the second period, the team reminded the hockey world of their grit, which was on full display from April to June this year. However, this is a group that is aware of the task at hand on Thursday night.

Nashville will not only be a hungry group in search of its first win of the season, but there will be extra motivation for the team in yellow.

Luke Schenn will be suiting up in his 1000th NHL game. We’ll likely see every Predators player sporting Schenn’s No. 2 during warm-up ahead of a ceremony that will celebrate the Saskatoon, SK product.

“He’s a glue guy,” Predators Head Coach Andrew Burnette said of Schenn in an interview with Brooks Bratten. “He's a guy that everybody kind of looks up to as a big brother. He's seen it all in his career and it's the gold standard to hit 1,000 games - and he didn't do it the easy way.

“It’s a real proud moment for him and his family to get to that number.”

Highly regarded for the content of his character and work ethic, Schenn states his desire remains the same as day one in this league.

“The ultimate goal is to try to win here (in Nashville),” said Schenn. “We’re obviously not off to a great start, but at the end of the day, that's why you play the game. No other reason than that.”

Nashville has been outscored 14-6 to start the season and are coming off a 7-3 loss on home ice to Seattle.

“We’re trying to play fire-wagon hockey here,” a candid Brunette shared post-game. “We’ve lost a little bit of our identity, of how we’re supposed to play. We’re kind of playing how we want to play a little bit.

“There’s a lot of summer hockey in our game .. we deserve to be where we are right now.”

And it was in the summer that Nashville stole hockey headlines with three significant signings in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. The trio has combined for three points in their first three games in the Music City while the team’s goals against sits at 4.67 per game.