The Edmonton Oilers hit the ice Monday morning, fresh off a first week that went 2-0-1.And as the team prepares for a three-game road trip through Southern California, they got some reinforcements as Jason Dickinson skated with the team. He, according to Daily Faceoff Edmonton’s Jason Gregor, was the pivot on the second line, flanked by Trent Frederic and Kasperi Kapanen.

It wasn’t the only notable thing to come out of practice, as head coach Mike Babcock announced his starters for the two games the Oilers play this week. Devon Levi gets the crease against the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday; Tristan Jarry goes Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.

Babcock, meanwhile, said he hoped Dickinson could play on the road trip.

“The biggest thing is when you miss training camp, everyone else is flying now compared to where they were three weeks ago, and you’re in mud, right?” Babcock said. “So it’s a battle on your way back, and that’s why you hope you’re healthy all the time and you never have to go through this. But he’s a good pro, he knows how to play. That’s going to help him.”

The Oilers kept the top line untouched, as Vasily Podkolzin, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl look to continue to wreak havoc on the opposition, while the third line saw Owen Michaels with Alex Formenton, and Max Jones and Mathieu Joseph rotating on the wings. The fourth line saw Colton Dach centre Isaac Howard, and Josh Samanski.

The defensive pairings remained untouched from Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken, which means Ty Emberson will likely stick in the lineup as the third pairing, right defenceman — and it’s easy to see why. While he played just 11:19, the Oilers had 11 shot attempts to the Kraken’s one with him on the ice.

“I liked him,” said Babcock of Emberson’s game. “He wasn’t in trouble — that’s what I liked about him, he played simple. Anytime you’ve sat out two games and you’re evaluated and then you get in, you’re probably not as relaxed as you could be, but I thought he was good.”

After the Oilers visit Anaheim and San Jose this week, they cap off the three-game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, Oct. 13, before returning home to start a home-and-home set with the Utah Mammoth.

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