PROJECTED LINEUP: Oilers vs. Kings

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers will keep the same forward combinations while making a swap on the blueline on Saturday night when Leon Draisaitl is celebrated for reaching 1,000 career points at Rogers Place before their first meeting of the regular season with the Los Angeles Kings.

Defenceman Ty Emberson will jump up to play on the second defensive pair with Darnell Nurse in place of Alec Regula as the only chance for the Oilers from their 4-3 comeback victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Goaltender Connor Ingram will return between the pipes tonight to start against the Kings.

Draisaitl achieved his milestone back on Dec. 16 in a road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and will have his chance to be acknowledged before tonight's game after plenty of family were able to fly over from Germany to be there tonight, including his 84-year-old omi (grandmother) making the trip.

"Very special, of course, and very proud of it," Draisaitl said. "Something that seemed very far away when it first all started, but very grateful for the people I have in my life, for this group in here, for what the organization has given me and the opportunities, so very excited for tonight.

"I think my family's very happy to be here as well. I got my mom, my dad, my sister, and my Omi, actually, is here, so she made it all the way. So it's gonna be a great night and a fun little celebration."

The Oilers are looking to secure their first three-game win streak of the season as they find themselves locked in a battle for first place in the Pacific Division, tied with the Golden Knights on 50 points despite having two more games played, while the Kings are three back in the second Wild Card spot.

"I think right now, we're both battling for position in our division and trying to win as many games as possible," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "We're not sure what their lineup's going to look like. They've had some injuries; they might have some guys coming back, but I don't know. I think right now, we're just trying to gain some momentum, trying to build our game, and win hockey games."

Coach Knoblauch & his side know that to make traction toward winning the division, they're going to have to put together a few multi-game win streaks, hoping to develop some sustained momentum moving forward when it comes to winning games with the Pacific looking wide open at this point.

"Usually, good teams are able to put together long streaks, and good teams also eliminate long losing streaks and we haven't really had either one of them," he said. "So I guess we're just about average. We'd obviously like to put together some wins, and the teams in our division have kind of been hot and cold.

"Right now, I think they're trending the right way. They're starting to win more games, but I think it's going to take a lot more wins to win the division. We're going to have to put together more than two wins at a time."

The Oilers also received encouragement from goaltender Tristan Jarry and defenceman Jake Walman taking part in this morning's pre-game skate, as both players remain on LTIR while Jarry is anticipated to return to the lineup in the coming week, Knoblauch said.

Defenceman Riley Stillman was loaned back to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors this afternoon, signalling that Walman could be close to returning.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. the Kings below:

Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Hyman
Podkolzin - Draisaitl - Kapanen
Howard - Roslovic - Savoie
Janmark - Lazar - Frederic

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Emberson
Stastney - Regula

Ingram
Pickard