Mike Cammalleri is ready to let his play do the talking as he makes his Edmonton Oilers debut Thursday night against St. Louis.
“I don’t have all that much to say. I’m just excited to play,” Cammalleri said after the Thursday morning skate.
He was acquired in a trade with Los Angeles on Tuesday with Jussi Jokinen going to the Kings.
Cammalleri, 35, had seven points in 15 games with the Kings. Now, he hopes to boost an Oilers club that is fighting back into the playoff race after a poor start to the season.
“Everybody knows what this group is capable of. Everybody saw what they did last year,” Cammalleri said. “I don’t see why there is any limitation on success here.”
Against the Blues, Cammalleri will play left wing on a line with Ryan Strome and Iiro Pakarinen. He’ll take the spot of Jujhar Khaira, who suffered a minor upper body injury in the 8-2 win over Vegas on Tuesday.
“The line was starting to gel a little bit. They were playing with a lot of energy and a lot of drive,” head coach Todd McLellan said.
“More of their offensive zone stuff came off the cycle and the forecheck. Maybe it wasn’t pretty but it was effective. Cammalleri can add his shot to it. He can feel his way onto our team a little bit without being in the top six to begin with.”
The Oilers projected lineup is:
Maroon – McDavid – Draisaitl
Lucic – Nugent-Hopkins – Puljujarvi
Cammalleri – Strome – Pakarinen
Caggiula – Letestu – Kassian
Nurse – Larsson
Klefbom – Benning
Russell – Gryba
Talbot
Catch the Oilers and Blues on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.
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