Hello from Edmonton, where the Seattle Kraken are set to take on the fast-and-loose Edmonton Oilers Saturday at Rogers Place. Head coach Lane Lambert confirmed that forward Mackie Samoskevich will make his debut after sitting out the first game in Calgary with an upper-body injury sustained in Training Camp.

“Obviously, it’s not fun watching, but it was fun to watch,” Samoskevich said of the team’s first outing, a 6-1 drubbing of the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. “They came out hot right away and ready to go, and with a short camp and all that, that’s good to see. I think the coaching staff did a good job of getting us ready.”

Samoskevich, known for his speed, should bring another element of skill to the lineup for Seattle in a matchup against an Edmonton team that has scored 14 goals but given up 13 through its first two games, both against the Vancouver Canucks.

“We all know it, speed is a big part of [The Oilers],” Samoskevich said. “It’s a big part of our team too, so it’ll be a fun game. We’ve just got to be smart, manage the puck really well, stay above their speed and help each other out out there.”

Jacob Melanson on injured reserve

We all wondered who would be put on waivers when Samoskevich became available, since the Kraken are at their 23-man roster limit. That question can be put off for at least a week, though, because Jacob Melanson is now out and on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

We didn’t see anything specific happen in the Calgary game, but Melanson did not practice Friday in Edmonton, and Lambert said at the time that he was “banged up” and “being evaluated.”

On Saturday, the coach shared that he doesn’t “expect him to be able to play in the next three games, but we’ll see.”

Lineup plans remain fuzzy

Seattle did not hold a morning skate Saturday, and based on how practice went Friday—when I genuinely do not think Lambert knew for sure if Samoskevich would be ready Saturday—there seemed to be a plan to ease the winger into the lineup. During line rushes, Samoskevich rotated in on the fourth line, with the top three lines from the Calgary game all remaining intact.

Lambert was unsurprisingly cagey Saturday, though, about where he would slot Samoskevich against Edmonton. Would he dare break up The Kids line of Berkly Catton, Shane Wright, and Ryan Winterton after they drove the bus en route to a dominant win last game?

“Well, we’ll see how we progress and see what our lines are tonight,” Lambert said with a smirk.

On the Catton/Wright/Winterton trio, Lambert said: “I like Ryan Winterton’s speed with them… It’s a long season, but certainly, I like the speed of Shane and ‘Cats.’ I think Shane’s got a pretty good mentality now, playing on the wing of using his shot, and we need him to use his shot.

“But they were quick, and they were hounding pucks, and I think Winterton has done a pretty good job with them. Not only does he complement their speed, but you could argue he’s faster too, so it makes for a dangerous trio.”

If Lambert wants to get Samoskevich into a top-six role, the most obvious solution to the puzzle would be to put everybody back where they were in Training Camp, with Samoskevich on the top line with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann, and Kaapo Kakko sliding back down to play with Catton and Wright.

But that would mean booting Winterton down to the fourth line, and after Game 1—and considering Lambert’s comments above—how does he do that?

We shall see…

Heck, I’m not even 100 percent sure who the goalie will be for this game. My gut says Joey Daccord, but Daccord was often tabbed for the second of back-to-backs last season.

In any case, here’s my best guess at the lineup:

Jared McCann / Matty Beniers / Kaapo Kakko
Bobby McMann / Chandler Stephenson / Jordan Eberle
Shane Wright / Berkly Catton / Ryan Winterton
Ben Meyers / Freddy Gaudreau / Mackie Samoskevich

Vince Dunn / Adam Larsson
Ryker Evans / Brandon Montour
Ryan Lindgren / Josh Mahura

Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer

If I’m right, the extras would be Curtis Douglas, Ville Ottavainen, and Cale Fleury.