At the Rink: Oilers at Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Edmonton Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz could return against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, ROOT).

The Oilers activated Schultz from injured reserve and reassigned defenseman Griffin Reinhart to the Bakersfield Condors. Schultz has not played since a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 25 because of a back injury.

Schultz could enter the lineup alongside defenseman Oscar Klefbom, which could push Mark Fayne to the third pairing with Eric Gryba.

The Penguins and Oilers play one day after each lost in overtime.

Pittsburgh lost 2-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. After forward Evgeni Malkin's third-period goal gave the Penguins the lead, Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen scored to send the game into overtime, where Cam Atkinson scored. The Penguins did not hold a morning skate Saturday following their first overtime loss of the season.

Edmonton also did not hold a morning skate after losing 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

Further changes to either lineup will not be known until later Saturday. Goalie Jeff Zatkoff is expected to start for the Penguins, however, possibly against Oilers goalie Anders Nilsson.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 41 saves Friday, when Pittsburgh was outshot 43-25.

"[Fleury] made some key saves in key moments in the game," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said Friday. "I thought some of our chances, we just missed the net. We have to bear down on some of those chances when we get those loose-puck opportunities, in tight into the slot. And some of our better chances, we just miss the net on."

Potential changes to Pittsburgh's lineup include forward Daniel Sprong slotting into the fourth line in place of left wing Sergei Plotnikov. Sprong, 14 games into his rookie season, has been a healthy scratch since the Penguins' 4-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 17.

Defenseman David Warsofsky is awaiting his first appearance for the Penguins since being recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Nov. 19. If he does enter the lineup, he would likely replace Adam Clendening alongside Ian Cole on Pittsburgh's third defensive pairing.

Warsofsky, 25, has played 10 NHL games across two seasons with the Boston Bruins, scoring one goal and three points.

In their first game against the Oilers, the Penguins avoided facing forward Connor McDavid (collarbone) in a 2-1 win on Nov. 6. Pittsburgh will avoid another Oilers No. 1 pick Saturday, with forward Nail Yakupov sidelined by an ankle sprain for 2-4 weeks.

Here are the projected lineups:

OILERS

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Jordan Eberle

Lauri Korpikoski – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Teddy Purcell

Benoit Pouliot – Mark Letestu – Matt Hendricks

Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Iiro Pakarinen

Darnell Nurse – Andrej Sekera

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Mark Fayne – Eric Gryba

Anders Nilsson

Cam Talbot

Injured: Nail Yakupov (ankle), Connor McDavid (collarbone), Rob Klinkhammer (lower body)

Scratched: Andrew Ference, Jujhar Khaira, Justin Schultz, Brandon Davidson

PENGUINS

Pascal Dupuis – Sidney Crosby – Patric Hornqvist

David Perron – Evgeni Malkin – Phil Kessel

Chris Kunitz – Nick Bonino – Beau Bennett

Sergei Plotnikov – Matt Cullen – Eric Fehr

Rob Scuderi – Kris Letang

Brian Dumoulin – Ben Lovejoy

Ian Cole – Adam Clendening

Jeff Zatkoff

Marc-Andre Fleury

Injured: Olli Maatta (upper body), Bryan Rust (undisclosed)

Scratched: David Warsofsky, Daniel Sprong

Status report: Maatta continues to skate on his own. Johnston said things look fairly positive right now regarding the defenseman, who is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. … Ference played Friday for the first time since Oct. 31. He had seven shifts for 4:24 of ice time.

Who's hot: Malkin has scored eight points in his past five games. He leads the Penguins with nine goals and 20 points. … Pakarinen broke out for two goals against Detroit after scoring one through his first 14 games. His two goals Friday doubled his career output of two in 31 games.