{"id":426413,"date":"2026-01-24T23:27:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T23:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/426413\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T23:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T23:27:24","slug":"oilers-morning-skate-mangiapane-gets-a-boost-draisaitls-heavy-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/426413\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers morning skate: Mangiapane gets a boost; Draisaitl’s heavy heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Mangiapane gets another boost tonight when he will skate alongside Leon Draisaitl on the Edmonton Oilers second line.<\/p>\n

Edmonton is a little light on forwards at the moment with Kasperi Kapanen and Adam Henrique injured, but Kris Knoblauch says there is more to Mangiapane\u2019s promotion than just throwing anyone into the spot as a placeholder.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast game he started out on the fourth line and we changed things up, he moved to Leon\u2019s line and they had some good shifts, spent a lot of time in the offensive zone,\u201d said the Oilers coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel that he\u2019s playing with an edge. I know it\u2019s been a very difficult season for him but he still has a great attitude and we feel he can help our team\u2026 score some goals when he gets the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 12 points and a minus 18 rating, Mangiapane has been a bitter disappointment since General Manger Stan Bowman signed him to a two-year $7.2-million contract last summer. The Oilers would like to get him traded to free up cap space and Mangiapane is receptive to the idea, so this showcase could be best for all concerned.<\/p>\n

But he needs to make the most of it and prove that, given the ice time and the linemates, he can still deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to go in there and play my game, compliment Leon and Podz (Vasily Podkolzin),\u201d said Mangiapane, who has two goals in his last 11 games and was healthy-scratched six times in the last 13 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t put too much pressure on yourself. You just have to go out there and play with confidence, that\u2019s a big part of my game, going out there and believing in yourself and showing everyone what you can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing tenacious, hard on the puck. That\u2019s kind of my game, being in the corners and winning the little battles \u2014 that\u2019s what I pride myself on and have to keep doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Draisaitl appreciates support<\/p>\n

Draisaitl\u2019s had a couple of days to rest and recover after returning from Germany and stepping right into the lineup on Thursday against Pittsburgh. It\u2019s been a long, difficult week for him as he deals with a family health matter, but he appreciates how the Oilers are helping him through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great that way, the support was there,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously I needed to be with my family. It puts things into perspective how little this in here (hockey) really matters when it comes to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Edmonton Oilers Leon Draisaitl (29) waits for the puck to drop against the New York Islanders during first period NHL action on Thursday, January 15, 2026 in Edmonton. Greg Southam-Postmedia<\/p>\n

Ovechkin always \u2018a treat\u2019<\/p>\n

The NHL\u2019s all-time leading goal scorer will be making one of his last visits to Edmonton tonight. Who knows how much longer the 40-year-old plans on playing, but he\u2019s getting to the end of it.<\/p>\n

So catch him while you can.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him to be able to score goals the way he has been throughout his career, it\u2019s amazing,\u201d said Knoblauch. \u201cWhether this is his last time in Edmonton, I don\u2019t know. But fans who come to the building tonight to watch him will get a nice treat because you don\u2019t know how many (visits) are left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at Capital One Arena on January 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

Even, Draisaitl, one of the greatest scorers of today, stops and takes notice when Ovechkin is on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s special. He\u2019s a legend in our game.\u201d<\/p>\n

E-mail:\u00a0rtychkowski@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal<\/a> | The Edmonton Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Mangiapane gets another boost tonight when he will skate alongside Leon Draisaitl on the Edmonton Oilers second…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[1586,1824,147,5862,198,146,5300,5,4812,2854,370,4,24,421,1469,6269,1588],"class_list":["post-426413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton-oilers","tag-adam-henrique","tag-andrew-mangiapane","tag-dallas-stars","tag-david-bloom","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-edmontonoilers","tag-hockey","tag-kasperi-kapanen","tag-kris-knoblauch","tag-leon-draisaitl","tag-nhl","tag-oilers","tag-ovechkin","tag-pittsburgh","tag-stan-bowman","tag-vasily-podkolzin"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115952671442751823","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}