Edmonton and the greater hockey world wait with bated breath for an injury update about the National Hockey League’s best player, Connor McDavid, after a fall on his first shift in a Monday game forced him out of the lineup.
The Oilers captain was tripped by Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski 15 seconds into Edmonton’s 6-1 loss, causing McDavid to fall, appearing to jam his left skate into the boards. While he would finish his shift lasting all of 37 seconds, McDavid wouldn’t return for the remainder of the game, with the team ruling him out with a lower-body injury.
After the game, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said McDavid was returning to Edmonton for more testing, while the remainder of the club would continue on a four-game road trip to Nashville, where the Oilers play Thursday, a game McDavid will likely miss.
More imaging was needed to determine the extent of the injury, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said on Daily Faceoff LIVE Tuesday morning, with a potential best-case scenario being a multi-week absence similar to that of Florida Panthers centre Aleksander Barkov, who returned from an eight-game sabbatical Monday.
“We’re still waiting on a timeline and some new information, but certainly of big concern,” said Seravalli. “You look at that and the first thing I think of is the Aleksander Barkov high-ankle sprain from a few weeks back, first week of the season, that luckily for him, wasn’t that serious.
“He ended up back in the Panthers lineup Monday night… and look, I think in a best-case scenario, just based on what I’ve heard in the early going, is that seems to like that would be the best outcome. I think, obviously, more imaging needed to be done, likely today, to find out are there any structural issues here.
“Is there any ligament or bone damage that needs to be dealt with? And if not, what’s the best course of action moving forward. Injuries like this can be tricky. From an Oilers perspective, that’s why getting off to a poor start to your season can be really difficult to dig out from.”
A source told Oilersnation’s Jason Gregor that their “initial thought is that it isn’t too serious,” which is an encouraging sign.
The Oilers will recall a player from their AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors ahead of Thursday’s game against the Predators, with options including the likes of Noah Philp and Matt Savoie.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
