Eberle injured..Update: Not good
By Jason Gregor
8 years ago
Jordan Eberle was injured midway through the first period. Kyle Chipchura hit him, but it was not a hard or violent hit. Eberle was in an awkward position when the hit occurred, and after the contact he was favouring his right shoulder.
He left the ice and went directly to the dressing room, and will not return tonight.
I’m no doctor so it might not be a shoulder, but he was clearly in discomfort and favouring his right side. Best case scenario is it was just a burner, or a sprain, but worst case scenario is a shoulder separation or dislocation.
If Eberle is out for an extended period of time, Nail Yakupov, Anton Slepyshev and Teddy Purcell will need to step up and fill the scoring void on the right side. Eberle is a three-time 60+ point player, and filling is skates won’t be easy.
We will update Eberle’s status after the game.
***UPDATE***
Todd McLellan said he will know more about Eberle tomorrow, but he definitely will not be practicing. “It is not good,” I was told regarding the injury. Eberle left the rink with his arm in a sling.
It’s too early to gauge the severity, but it sounds like he will be out longer than simply day-to-day. It puts a damper on what has been a very positive preseason thus far for the Oilers. Eberle is one of their best players, and losing him for an extended period of time would be a huge blow.
GAME THOUGHTS…
- Anton Lander continued his strong preseason with another three goals. He
looks equally as confident as he did at the end of last season. He leads
the Oilers with five goals and six preseason points. I don’t expect him
to score at this rate, but I don’t see why he can’t be a 40+ point player. - Anders Nilsson has been perfect thus far. He stopped 17 shots in 30
minutes vs. Calgary, stopped all 25 vs. Minnesota and tonight he stopped
all 11. The Wild and Coyotes didn’t create many good opportunities, but
Nilsson did his job exceptionally well. I’d be surprised if he’d make
it through waivers, due to his salary and preseason play, and that might
help him in the back up battle with Scrivens. - Scrivens was also perfect tonight, stopping all nine shots he faced
in 31 minutes. But it is hard to evaluate the goalies when the defence
doesn’t give up many scoring chances. - Slepyshev looked good again. He isn’t flashy, but he reads the play
well. None of us had him in the mix to make the team when camp started,
but give him credit — he has put himself in the conversation. I expect he
will play one, if not both, games vs. Vancouver later this week. - McDavid’s speed was apparent tonight. I thought this was the most
explosive he’s looked all preseason. He is looking more comfortable
every game, and there will be nights where everyone will be
wowed by his ability. - Nikitin had two assists, neither was a beauty, but outside of his
assists, I thought he looked solid. He didn’t look slow at any point in
the game. Maybe that was due to the Coyotes young lineup, but he should
be acknowledged for playing a good game. - The Oilers post back-to-back shutouts. Yes, they were against watered
down rosters, but many teams are playing weak competition and none of
them are posting back-to-back shutouts. Considering how bad this team
has been defensively for the past few seasons, it should be considered a
welcome change. The Oilers have not had many glaring breakdowns the
past two games. That is significant progress in my books. - “It is much more fun winning. We haven’t won much the past few years, and even though it is only preseason, winning can become a habit. We have to work hard and ensure it continues into the regular season,” Lander said. Bang on.
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