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This just in from hockey commentator Jason Gregor ofTSN, Oilers Nation and the Edmonton Journal on the new Edmonton Oilers defence pairings and lines:

Klefbom-Larsson

Nurse-Russell

Auvitu-Gryba

Benning rotating in with third pair.

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And from Bob Stauffer of the Oilers:

Oilers lines:

Maroon-McDavid-Strome

Lucic-RNH-Yamamoto

Jokinen-Letestu-Kassian

Pakarinen-Khaira-Slepyshev Kelly

Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula are not at practice today

And from Jack Michaels of the Oilers: “Draisaitl missed practice today with a swollen eye. Should be ready to go vs Ottawa. Caggiula still day to day.”

My take

There was talk Caggiula was banged up a bit, and this would seem to confirm it. With Draisaitl out, it’s not yet possible to know if he’ll be back on the top line, or if Ryan Strome is going to get a shot there in the regular season. Perhaps Draisaitl will centre Jokinen and Kassian, with Letestu bumping down to the fourth line. But that’s all guess work for now. UPDATE: Asked if Draisaitl would be at wing or centre, McLellan said: “Don’t know yet.” What is less of a guess is that the Oilers are going to give Matt Benning a break, some time to watch from the pressbox, just as The Cult’s Bruce McCurdy suggested would be a good idea on our post-game podcast after the loss to the Jets. The big move here is Nurse to the Top 4, where he will team up with Kris Russell. Russell slides over to the right side, which is the only downside of this move. By my eyes, Nurse looks ready for this promotion. I’m more bullish on Nurse than most Oilers fans, but he’s been skating well, moving the puck better and playing a hardcore physical game so far this year. I’m glad to see him get the chance in the Top 4 and suspect he’ll make the most of it. Nurse should help Russell deal with the physical heavy lifting, but the issue will be whether these two can move the puck well enough to flourish together. Both players have had their issues moving the puck, Russell because he’s over-cautious and asked to play his off-side and Nurse because he’s inexperienced and has needed work on his pinpoint passing and decision-making. A break is in order for Benning. He was getting beat too often, with opposing players busting into the slot for great scoring chances. He could use some time to regroup. Of course, this is the same Benning who played so well much of last year, so that’s all I’m going to conclude for now, that he wasn’t quite ready just now to succeed in the Top 4 but that a break might be the correct tonic for him. Likewise when he returns to the line-up, he’ll likely be best off in the bottom pairing, where he played most of last year in partnership with Nurse. If Benning does return in a bottom-pairing role, this presents one problem. Both he and Gryba are right shot d-men, so there’s no easy fit. Perhaps Benning could play the left side, but that doesn’t seem ideal. More likely, the Oilers will see now if Yohann Auvitu is ready for prime time. If the left shot Auvitu can handle bottom-pairing chores, then Benning would slide in next to him. If not, the Oilers might move at that point to acquire another bottom-pairing left shot d-man to slot in with Benning. For now at least Yamamoto sticks with the Oilers. With Caggiula hurt, that makes sense. The Oilers have nine games to decide on Yamamoto, so no need to change anything much until that audition period is over, especially when there’s an obvious hole in the roster right now.

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Photo by Ian Kucerak / Postmedia, file

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