Oilers confirm starting lineup and goalie, update Frederic status after injury at practice

The Oilers also were down to just 10 healthy forwards at practice yesterday as Mattias Janmark was absent, and Trent Frederic left with injury. Edmonton is expected to make a roster move soon, but they should be fine for tonight.

According to Coach Knoblauch at today's practice Trent Frederic needed 14 stitches to close up his wound, but he'll be healthy and in the lineup tonight. Stuart Skinner will get the start, and the Oilers will run the same lines.

The Oilers didn't play well for the first 40 minutes of their loss to the Sabres, but these line combinations have given the Coach some hope in their last 3 games.

The top six forward group has been excellent, and rookie Matt Savoie has fit well next to Leon Draisaitl. The bottom six has had a few lifeless performances lately, so fans will be looking for some improvement there.

Tonight's the final game of a 5-game homestand before the Oilers depart for a challenging road trip. Edmonton needed to make up some ground during this stretch of games, but have put up a mediocre 2-1-1 record.

If they can close out tonight's homestand with a win, it'll make their record quote a bit better and help put them in a better standings position. They'll have a tough task against an emerging Detroit team, but the Oilers should be able to handle this.