'Dynamite's ready, Butch': Oilers without top-gun Draisaitl face Senators on Saturday

Fans and bloggers who have encouraged (begged)Todd McLellan to split up Butch and Sundance on the Oilers top line will finally get their wish.

But not for the reasons, or in the way, they wanted.

Butch Draisaitl won't gallop into action beside the Sundance KidSaturday night at Rogers Place because rather thanriding shotgun on the right wing, big Leon will watch the action from somewhere near the rafters.

Draisaitl suffered an eye injury in the game against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. The injurywas serious enough to keep him out of all three practices this week, and out of action tonight.

• Young but not restless, Edmonton Oilers regroup after two straight losses
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That means rookie Kailer Yamamoto will get his chance to play sidekick on the top line with Connor McDavid and Patrick Maroon, in a game the Oilers need as they look to turn the page on a minorlosing streak.

Yamamoto, who turned 19 last month, surprised many when he made the team out of training camp. He played 6:33 in the season opener against Calgary, sat out last Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, then was on the ice for almost 12 minutes against the Jets on Monday.

Whether or not Yamamoto can help bring enough dynamite toblow the doors off the Ottawa Senators remains, of course, to be seen. That is, after all, why they play the games.

Three days of hard slogging

What we do know is that this young team worked hard for three days this week in the video room and on the practice rink, where McLellan showed them their mistakes then spent some quality time teaching time.

When we look back on the 2017-18 NHL season, it may turn out that the schedulinggods were kind to the Edmonton Oilers in October.

The team had five days off between games this week and won't have another break that long until their scheduled bye weekJan. 14-19.

The white spaces on the scheduled gave McLellan the chance, several chances in fact, to remind his young players that teams that get outworked don't often win in this league.

McLellan told reporters Friday he knew the team would have to face adversity this season, would need some not-so-gentle reminders that there are 31 teams stocked with talented players who all want, and expect, to win.

"We're facing it early," McLellan said. "Which, again, is not a surprise to me, knowing how some teams and young players react to the season prior and what happens over the summer."

McLellan coached the San Jose Sharks for seven years before he took over behind the Oilers bench in 2015. He has been through this, many times, before.

"My gut told me that we would have to fight through this at some point," he said. "I was hoping it would maybe be a little bit later.

"We were very direct with players this week. There wasn't a lot of hugging going on. There was a lot of kicking. I'm sure they got the message."

Some quality (teaching) time

The team passed its first test in the home opener, then flunked twice in a row. So the players were sent back to school with a teacher who was a little cranky.

"You can't come in and rant and rave until after the exam," McLellan said.

The next test comes against a Senators team missing its brightest star (defenceman Erik Karlsson will miss his fifth game Saturday).

McLellan said he wants to see Yamamoto repeat and perhaps improve upon his performance Monday, when he played 20 shifts, created scoring chances and had four shots on goal.

"There's some pressure on him to play in that position right now," the coach said. "He's playing up in the batting order, if you will. I think he's capable of doing it. I just want him to feel comfortable, to play his game. I want him to feel good about being out there. And we'll take what we can get from him offensively."

Left winger Milan Lucic, who practised much of the week on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian, said after two "pretty poor games" the team needed the hard work the coach demanded this week.

"I think his message was pretty clear on Wednesday," Lucic said. "That we needed to play harder. I think guys are feeling better about themselves now."

Last season, things went more smoothly right from the start, Lucic said, and the players didn't really give the coach many reasons to be unhappy.

"As players, I don't think we gave him the chance to, I guess, bring out his mean side like he has," he said. "Every coach has it. I think we definitely deserved it."

The other expected change in lineup Saturday will see defenceman Yohaan Auvitu play his first regular season game for the Oilers. Born in France, Auvitu played most of career in Europe before signing with New Jersey. He played 25 games for the Devils last year and averaged 17 minutes of ice.

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