He hasn\u2019t played since March 15, and although the timelines haven\u2019t changed, vague as they are, the German superstar is looking more and more ready to join the Oilers in a real game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting him game-ready as much as possible, and to do that, we\u2019re putting him with players that he would most likely play with,\u201d said coach Kris Knoblauch<\/a> on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was playing a lot with Podz [Podkolzin] and Kaps [Kapanen] this year, and certainly last year. Sometime during the playoffs, most likely that\u2019ll be a line at some point. That\u2019s my reasoning for putting them in a line. So he might be ready for Game 1, he might be Game 3. Might be Game 5.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Good news for Oilers fans: Leon Draisaitl is back in regular rotation at Friday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n Pivoting the second line with Podkolzin & Kapanen on his wings. #Oilers<\/a><\/p>\n Dickinson to practice?<\/p>\n Jason Dickinson went on the ice Friday on his own. Knoblauch received an update on the veteran centre\u2019s status, who left the game against the Sharks on April 8 after a blistering puck hit him low.<\/p>\n The expectation is for Dickinson<\/a> to practice with the team on Sunday and go from there, as his status is dictated on the medical staff\u2019s evaluations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s doctors allowing him to play, and he\u2019s itching to get out there and he wants to be part of this,\u201d said Knoblauch.<\/p>\n In 17 games with the Oilers, Dickinson has averaged 15:03 of ice-time, scoring one goal and four points.<\/p>\n Glue guy returnsOut to lead team stretch was beloved teammate Calvin Pickard, who was an emergency recall<\/a> to be the Oilers\u2019 third goalie on Friday. Since Connor Ingram has surged as the team\u2019s starter, plus the acquisition of Tristan Jarry, there hasn\u2019t been a spot for Pickard.<\/p>\n Knoblauch said the team was disappointed when he was sent down. He was struggling mightily, with a .871 save percentage and 3.68 goals against average, after being the team\u2019s lifeline in last year\u2019s post-season.<\/p>\n The veteran netminder played eight games with the Bakersfield Condors, and his numbers didn\u2019t fare much better, posting a 4-3-1 record, .886 Sv% and a 3.26 GAA.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was the odd guy out, which was really unfair for him, because I think we played some of our worst hockey in front of him, which didn\u2019t help his situation,\u201d said Knoblauch. <\/p>\n \u201cNow, at this point of the year, I believe every NHL team has three goaltenders, and he was our guy right from the start that we were going to call up. I know how popular he is and how much he means to this room. He is a glue guy, and it is definitely nice having him back. There\u2019s been a lot of smiles.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tristan Jarry remains the team\u2019s backup.<\/p>\n Lineup decisions<\/p>\n The @EdmontonOilers<\/a> practice:<\/p>\n Savoie-McDavid-Hyman Ekholm-Bouchard Ingram With the uncertainty of Draisaitl or Dickinson for the Game 1 lineup, Knoblauch admits there are question marks about which line combinations the Oilers will use for the series opener.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why he focused on pairs with the lines. He kept the McDavid line together after a terrific game against the Canucks on Thursday, plus the Colton Dach-Josh Samanski-Trent Frederic combination which scored the first and final goal of the contest.<\/p>\n Dach, in particular, showed his range<\/a> of how he can impact a game with a rare Gordie Howe hat-trick, the first for the Oilers since Evander Kane in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings in 2024. The bird of a feather similarities between Dach and Frederic (just like Darnell Nurse and Connor Murphy) seem a natural winger combination for a crash-and-bang third or fourth line.But two forwards would come out of this lineup when both are healthy enough to play. The most likely candidate is Curtis Lazar. The other isn\u2019t so clear, as Adam Henrique has the experience, but Josh Samanski<\/a> has a better burst.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of balls up in the air,\u201d said Knoblauch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s practice might provide more answers.<\/p>\n Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He\u2019s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.\u00a0<\/p>\n PRESENTED BY THE NATION NETWORK\u2019S PLAYOFF COVERAGE
\nPodkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen
\nHenrique-RNH-Roslovic
\nDach-Samanski-Frederic
\nLazar<\/p>\n
\nNurse-Murphy
\nWalman-Emberson
\nStastney <\/p>\n
\nJarry
\nPickard<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SPE-PDE-Playoffs26-Promos_727x404_v2.png\")
<\/a>
\nThe Nation Network is your ultimate playoff headquarters. From expert shows and deep-dive articles, to live social updates, analytics, and fantasy insights\u2014we cover every moment. Whether it\u2019s epic goals, big hits, or game-changing plays, we\u2019ve got you covered. One Network. Every moment. Tune in to the Oilersnation<\/a> and Daily Faceoff YouTube channels!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oilers practice notes: Draisaitl back in regular spot, Dickinson to practice Sunday, Pickard returns For those at Edmonton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[198,146,5300,5,4,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-555600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-edmonton","9":"tag-edmonton-oilers","10":"tag-edmontonoilers","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-oilers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116428212060022362","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555600","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=555600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}