Upper-body injury removes Connor McDavid from Oilers lineup for one-to-two weeks; at risk of missing Heritage Classic
By Zach Laing
9 months agoThe Edmonton Oilers will need to get used to life without Connor McDavid as the club announced Sunday afternoon their captain would miss the next one to two weeks.
The club said that McDavid, injured in Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, is dealing with an upper-body injury.
It wasn’t entirely clear when McDavid was injured, but a clip aired by Sportsnet noted a first-period entanglement with Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey. The pair got caught up near the benches, and McDavid fell hard to the ice, landing on his left side.
McDavid stayed in the game but would miss the final four minutes of regulation and overtime. On his last shift, McDavid entered the offensive zone, reached for his right side, continued with his shift, and reached for the same area roughly 30 seconds later.
After the game, Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said he believed McDavid was dealing with a muscular injury but wasn’t sure where the injury had occurred.
The Oilers as a whole have sputtered out of the gate to start the season now falling to 1-3-1, and play just three games over the next seven days. On Tuesday, they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild, while they host the New York Rangers on Thursday evening.
Then, in a game of significance, the Oilers play host to the Calgary Flames next Sunday night at Commonwealth Stadium for the 2023 Heritage Classic. The timeline given by the Oilers indicates McDavid is at risk of missing that game.
Dr. Harjas Grewal, a family doctor who analyzes injuries on Twitter, said after the game that McDavid could be dealing with an oblique strain, but it wasn’t clear.
McDavid has drawn in five of the Oilers’ games this year, scoring two goals and eight points.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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