BLOG: Friday's practice at Rogers Place

EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Oilers held practiced at Rogers Place on Friday afternoon ahead of hosting the Calgary Flames in tomorrow night's Battle of Alberta.
Zack Kassian was back participating in full, skating on a line with Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan. The forward said in his post-practice media availability that he feels ready to go after going through concussion protocol following a fight during last Thursday's pre-season win over Vancouver as he awaits official clearance from team doctors for the go-ahead to suit up on Saturday.
Ryan McLeod centred the fourth line between Brendan Perlini and Kyle Turris as Devin Shore was not on the ice with the main group. Head Coach Dave Tippett said that Saturday's game will come too soon for Shore to recover from a nagging undisclosed injury and is hopeful to have the 27-year-old available next week on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks.
Slater Koekkoek joined Evan Bouchard on the Oilers third defensive pairing after the defender missed out in favour of Kris Russell in Wednesday night's 3-2 Opening Night shootout victory over the Canucks. Tippett is leaning towards making the lineup change on Saturday in a bid to get everyone up and going with ice time early in the season.
Goaltender Mike Smith, after making 36 saves on 38 shots on Wednesday, is slated to get the start in back-to-back games to begin the season.

Kassian on how he's feeling after leaving last Thursday's pre-season game in the third period:

"Yeah, I feel good," he said. "Honestly, I came to (consciousness) pretty quickly after the incident. Obviously the concussion protocol and the things they have in place over the last week, I've done multiple tests and whatnot to make sure I'm good to go. Everything's come back positive and I (feel) good to play."
"I remember everything until I hit the ice. I remember falling and kind of having the 'uh oh' moment, and then I remember (becoming conscious) with a lot of people around me. So it's a scary incident, a fluke, but stuff like that happens."

Kassian on the excitement that expected animosity can bring to a game like Saturday's upcoming Battle of Alberta:

"We've obviously had our battles over the years," he said. "I think when you throw fans into the mix too, it's going to be a fun night; not only for us players, but for everyone in Alberta whether it's Oilers fans or Calgary fans. It's going to be an exciting night and hopefully, we can get out of here with two points."

Tippett on potentially having Kassian back operating on the third line with Foegele and Ryan:

"I think they'll continue to get better," he said. "But there is a feeling-out process of getting it going. The last exhibition game they played, we thought the line was really strong. Kass comes in, and we've talked about this before that he's had a great camp. Battling the injuries last year, he wanted to come in and get going. He's had a little setback here, but he feels great and wants to get up and going. We've liked what that line has done so far, so we'll see where it goes in the regular season."

Tippett on what he saw from Bouchard in Wednesday's season opener:

"Really solid," he said. "It's like the rest of our group, there are a couple of things we look at... he had the right reads, but you just have to get the job done. That happens with every player. His game continues to grow. I think we played him almost six minutes on the penalty kill the other night. He's a smart kid and understands what it is. He'll just continue to get better, but he's the real thing. He'll just continue to be better and be a big part of our team."

Tippett on playing disciplined against Calgary after his team was called for five penalties against Vancouver:

"It didn't matter who we were playing next game," he said. "We were talking about discipline, and we've got to take less penalties. Like I mentioned the other day, it's the things that happen before the penalty that put you in those situations. There are some things we have to clean up there so we're not in the situation where we do take the penalty."

Bouchard on playing six minutes on the penalty kill against Vancouver:

"I like playing it," he said. "It's fun. It kind of keeps you involved and gets you thinking differently. So I think playing that is going to help me out, and I like playing it."
"It's more about thinking of where (the puck) is going to be, buying into the system, because everyone has to be on the same page there, which is what makes the PK so effective. I think we're really buying in and the PK is doing a good job."

Bouchard on Darnell Nurse as a tutor on the penalty kill:

"It's awesome playing with him," he said. "He's the whole package. He can do it all. So getting to play with him is great on the PK and he helps me out a bunch. He works hard out there, so he makes it a lot easier.
"He kind of just gives me pointers. It's nit-picking, but having your stick in this lane rather than this lane, closing in and staying in synch, playing together, and stuff like that."