Lubo's Back

As the Oilers get set to take on Jonathon Tavares and the New York Islanders for the second time this pre-season -- this time in Saskatoon -- Oilers fans are finally hearing the big news they've waited for since February:

Lumbomir Visnovsky is back.

Visnovsky is expected to play against Tavares and the Islanders tonight. He may even be playing alongside Taylor Chorney once again -- Chorney, as some may recall, played on a pairing with Lubo during the 2008-09 pre-season.

Jordan Eberle returns to Saskatchewan once again, to play up the highway from his hometown of Regina -- where he also played the last three seasons for the Pats.

The Credit Union Centre, home to the Saskatoon Blades, should prove to be a more familiar setting for Eberle. This may have come at just the right time for Eberle. Although Eberle has played strongly during this pre-season, he's clearly running out of chances to show head coach Pat Quinn that he belongs on this team.

By the time the Oilers play their final pre-season game against the Vancouver Canucks on September 27th they'll be icing close to their full lineup.

And while Eberle can count on being among the final players deliberated on by Quinn and Associate Coach Tom Renney -- Chorney and Robbie Schremp will likely be among them as well -- there's no time like the present for Eberle to solidify his place on this team.

Also returning to familiar territory is Brock, Saskatchewan's Steve MacIntyre. One can expect the admittedly-unlikely NHLer to receive a resounding welcome, perhaps even with a significant contingent from his hometown.

But there's little question that the big story for Oilers fans tonight is the return of Lubomir Visnovsky.