Predicted Oilers Lineup Tonight: Edmonton's projected lines for game against Calgary Flames | October 8, 2025

The Edmonton Oilers open their 2025-26 NHL season at home on Wednesday, October 8 at 10 p.m. ET against the Calgary Flames.

Edmonton has lost back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and made some changes to the depth of the roster. Ahead of its season opener, here is the Oilers' projected lineup for Game 1 of the season.

Oilers projected lines

Forwards

• Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Trent Frederic
• Andrew Mangiapane - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Matthew Savoie
• Ike Howard - Adam Henrique - David Tomasek
• Vasily Podkolzin - Noah Philip - Kasperi Kapanen

Edmonton is putting Draisaitl and McDavid on the same line to begin the season. It's unclear how long they will play together for, but at least for the home opener, the two superstars will be on the same line.

McDavid also will play his first game since signing his two-year, $25 million extension.

"I obviously said I was committed to winning here and I meant that when I said that, and two years makes a lot of sense,” McDavid said of his extension. “It gives us a chance to continue chasing down what we’ve been chasing down here with the core guys we have in here and we have a little bit of money to work with too. I think the deal makes sense to both sides.”

The Oilers' notable new additions are Howard and Mangiapane, who should add some secondary scoring. Zach Hyman is expected to miss the first month or two of the season.

Defense

• Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
• Darnell Nurse - Alec Regula
• Brett Kulak - Ty Emberson

The Oilers' defense is led by Bouchard who also signed a massive extension this offseason. Edmonton needs Mattias Ekholm to be much better this season than he was last year.

Goalies

• Stuart Skinner
• Calvin Pickard

The Oilers are running back the same goaltending duo, and Stuart Skinner will be starting the first game of the season. Skinner has been inconsistent in his career, but he went 26-18-4 with a 2.81 GAA and a .896 SV% last season and is 5-2 with a 2.06 GAA and a .939 SV% in his career against Calgary.