PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Blackhawks

Duncan Keith will make his return to United Center where he played 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks when the Edmonton Oilers close out their five-game road trip on Thursday.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet One or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED, starting at 6:30 PM MT.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game at CHI 03.03.22

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game at CHI
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Ceci
PRE-GAME RAW | Yamamoto
RECENT VIDEOS
OILERS TODAY | Homecoming Keith
Oilers welcome Keith back to Chicago
PRACTICE | Keith 03.02.22
PRACTICE | McDavid 03.02.22
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Blackhawks Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
RELEASE: Oilers trade Stalock to San Jose
BLOG: Oilers welcome Keith back to Chicago
RELEASE: Oilers sign three to NHL deals
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Thursday's game on Sportsnet One at 6:30 PM MT.
News and notes from Oilers practice at United Center on Wednesday, including Duncan Keith's stick salute put on by his Oilers teammates to mark the return of the defenceman to his former home for 16 NHL seasons.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
CHICAGO, IL - Tonight marks the first time in Duncan Keith's 16 and a half seasons in the NHL that he won't be taking the ice at United Center as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
After winning three Stanley Cup titles, two Norris Trophy honours and one Conn Smythe Trophy with the Windy City squad, the decorated defenceman will make his return as a member of the Oilers as they conclude their five-game road trip, looking to secure six of a possible 10 points.
Keith returned to the Oilers lineup on Tuesday in Philadelphia after a nine-game absence due to a concussion and related upper-body soreness, just in time to make his return to Chicago two nights later ahead of what will no doubt be a warm welcome back to the Madhouse on Madison.
"I'm super proud to say I was a Hawk for as long as I was, be drafted by that team and spend so many years here," he said after Wednesday's practice. "It's exciting to be back."
Keith's teammates, coaches and members of the Oilers support staff showed their appreciation for the 38-year-old's Chicago homecoming prior to yesterday's skate as they greeted him at United Center with a hallway stick salute and red-carpet pathway to his stall in the locker room.
"It's a special day for him," captain Connor McDavid said of the gesture. "I'm sure it's going to be a lot for him coming back to a place where he's got so many memories. As his teammates, we want to try to make it special for him and get a big win for him."
"We wanted to do something special for Duncs and his arrival back to the United Center," echoed Head Coach Jay Woodcroft. "Everyone drew some energy from it. It's a special day for him, I know, and everyone was super excited for him."
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 03.03.22
Keith's achievements in past seasons with the Blackhawks made him a valuable addition to the Oilers roster for 2021-22, and he's continued to be a solid contributor with one goal, 13 assists and a plus-five rating in 36 games while averaging 20:14 time on ice per night.
"You can't say enough good things," McDavid said. "He's a living legend, a first-ballot hall-of-famer. He's had an amazing career and he's been playing good hockey for us as well, so we're happy to have him back in the lineup. He's someone who means a lot to us in that locker room."
"What he has is experiences to draw from in a lot of the big games he's played in throughout his career," Woodcroft added. "He has a calming influence on our dressing room. It's important to have that type of experience in a hockey locker room, but he has to also be able to play, and I was really impressed with seeing him live (on Tuesday). He makes a lot of really good plays."
600 GAMES FOR CECI
Another Oilers defenceman celebrating a big moment on Thursday night is Cody Ceci who will be suiting up for his 600th career NHL game.
The 28-year-old played for his hometown Ottawa 67s in the Ontario Hockey League, was drafted fifth overall by his hometown Senators in 2012 and has enjoyed a fruitful NHL career thus far with stops in Ottawa, Toronto and Pittsburgh before signing a four-year contract with Edmonton last summer.
Video: PRE-RAW | Cody Ceci 03.03.22
"It's kind of flown by," Ceci said. "It feels like yesterday I was coming out of junior, getting a chance to play my first NHL game, and from there I've moved around quite a bit, played with a lot of great players in some cool places. It's kind of all been a whirlwind."
The right-shot rearguard has been a steady presence for the Oilers this season, playing important shutdown minutes while also contributing a pair of goals and 13 assists in 50 games.
"I'm trying to keep it simple, play those hard minutes and let our offensive guys do their thing," Ceci said. "I'm trying to play more into a veteran role. We've got some young d-men that have been playing great for us, so I'm trying to help them out as much as I can."
Coach Woodcroft has liked what he's seen from Ceci since taking over as bench boss.
"He's simple, straight-forward, direct," he said. "He's an excellent professional, someone who quietly goes about his business, who is consistent in his process. He does a lot of things that might go unnoticed by fans or the media, but they're not unappreciated by his coaching staff or his teammates. He's a very valued and trusted teammate in our dressing room."
BIG YAMA-MOMENTS
Kailer Yamamoto continues to build his reputation of being a clutch scorer.
Four of his 11 goals this season have been game-winners and several others have come in key moments like his most recent tally on Tuesday in Philadelphia, as he crashed the crease on a goal-mouth scramble late in the second period and whacked home the loose puck, extending Edmonton's lead over the Flyers to 2-0 and providing some much-appreciated insurance.
Video: PRE-RAW | Kailer Yamamoto 03.03.22
Going back to his Western Hockey League days with his hometown Spokane Chiefs, nearly one-quarter of Yamamoto's goals (23 of 105) were game-winners.
"I've kind of been doing it my whole life," he said. "Growing up, I always loved those big stages."
LINEUP NOTES
Between the pipes, Mikko Koskinen will make his 29th start of the season, two days removed from an outstanding 39-save performance in Philadelphia that earned him his sixth career shutout. The big Finn is 7-0-1 in his last eight starts and owns the NHL's best road record at 12-2-2.
After missing Wednesday's practice with what Coach Woodcroft called a non-COVID-related illness, Tyler Benson was back on the ice Thursday and will be an option up front.
Edmonton's full lineup will be made public during pre-game warmup.
-- Ryan Frankson, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS at BLACKHAWKS
STREAM: 6:30 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet One
Oilers Team Scope
Goaltender Mikko Koskinen made 39 saves to secure his first shutout of the season while both Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid had a goal and assist on Tuesday in a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers that bumped the Oilers overall record up to 30-21-3.
Kailer Yamamoto returned to the lineup from a one-game absence due to injury to score the insurance marker in the second period and his 11th goal of the season by converting a gritty net-front scramble that put the Oilers up by two.
"He's an important piece of our team. Not having him in Carolina hurt us," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Yamo gives us energy on the forecheck, he's relentless on the back-check, and I think he's underrated physical ... He has a high hockey IQ and is willing to pay a price to score. You don't go to where he went to to get that goal unless you're brave."
Teammates of defenceman Duncan Keith welcomed the former three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks back to the United Center before Wednesday's practice in Chicago as he prepares to play his first game back in Chicago as opposition with the Oilers against the team he led from the blueline for 16 seasons.
Later in the day, the Oilers signed three players currently with the Bakersfield Condors -- Dmitri Samorukov, Vincent Desharnais, and James Hamblin -- to NHL deals that will kick in at the start of the 2022-23 season before goaltender Alex Stalock was traded to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations.
Blackhawks Team Scope
Chicago concludes an extended six-game homestand on Thursday against the Oilers after being blanked 4-0 by the St. Louis Blues this past Sunday at the United Center after giving up three goals in the second period to Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, and David Perron.
Two of the second-period goals came directly off turnovers, which was a point of emphasis for the Blackhawks in their pre-game talks, but the plan ultimately wasn't executed as the 'Hawks ended the night with 15 giveaways.
"We talked about that before the game, managing the puck," interim head coach Derek King said. "You can't turn pucks over against these guys, they're so quick. Their transition game is really good, that's why they're one of the top teams. We turned pucks over at the wrong time and they were in the back of our net."
Off the ice, the Blackhawks named Kyle Davidson the club's 10th General Manager on Tuesday after the 33-year-old held the interim tag for the last four months while the search led by CEO Rocky Wirtz was conducted.
"It's clear that we need to be better. The standings tell us that every single day," Davidson said. "We're a long way from where we want to be and where we need to be as a team, and we intend to rebuild this both on and off the ice, no matter if it takes three years, five years, to get the level of success that we're looking to achieve… I promise to ensure respect, dignity, and professionalism are reflected in everything we do."
By The Numbers
The Oilers are 3-7-1 in their last 11 road games vs Blackhawks, getting outscored 33-22... The Oilers are 7-3-0 since Jay Woodcroft took over as head coach on February 10 and are 8-2-1 in their last 11 road games with a plus-16 goal differential... Edmonton has scored a power-play goal in six of their last seven games... The Oilers are 67-for-98 (68.4%) on the penalty kill in their last 32 games, which ranks last in the NHL during that span...
The Oilers are 17-0-0 when scoring first & 13-21-3 when trailing first this season... Connor McDavid's 77 points (29 G, 48 A) in 53 games this season lead the NHL... McDavid needs two assists for his sixth season with 50-plus assists and one goal for his sixth straight season with 30-plus goals. Leon Draisaitl's 37 goals this season are tied for the most in the NHL... Defenceman Darnell Nurse snapped his 4-game pointless streak on Tuesday vs Flyers... Mikko Koskinen is 7-0-1 in his last 8 starts...
The Blackhawks have lost 12 of their last 16 games, getting outscored 60-41, and have lost eight of their last nine home games... The Blackhawks have scored 86 even-strength goals this season, the lowest in the NHL... Patrick Kane has seven goals in his last 11 games after havign three goals in his previous 27 games... He Leads all active U.S.-Born players with 420 career goals... Marc-Andre Fleury is 16-19-4 with a 2.83 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and four shutouts in 39 starts this season, having lost three straight starts (0-2-1, 2.27 GAA, .920 SV%) and 10 of his last 13.
Injury Report
OILERS - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (upper body) is on IR; Jesse Puljujarvi (lower body) is on IR; Zack Kassian (fractured jaw) is on IR; Kris Russell (undisclosed) is on IR.
BLACKHAWKS - Calvin de Haan (undisclosed) is day-to-day; Jonathan Toews (concussion) is on IR; Jujhar Khaira (lower back) is on IR; Riley Stillman (shoulder) is on IR; Reese Johnson (fractured clavicle) is on IR: Tyler Johnson (neck) is on IR; Andrew Shaw (concussion) is on IR.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com