There are four days remaining in the NHL season, and the Edmonton Oilers can finish in four different playoff positions. They can win the Pacific, finish second or third, or finish fourth, which would be the second wild card spot and a date with the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

The standings are incredibly close, and Anaheim and Los Angeles still haven’t officially clinched playoff spots, although the Ducks just need one point in their final two games, while the Kings need two points from their final three games.

Vegas hosts Winnipeg tonight and Seattle on Wednesday.

The Oilers are home to Colorado tonight and Vancouver on Thursday.

Anaheim is on the road for games in Minnesota on Tuesday and Nashville on Thursday.

Los Angeles is on the road in Seattle tonight, Vancouver tomorrow and Calgary on Thursday.

The Kings have won four in a row, and they play the three worst teams in the Pacific division. If they win all three of their games, the Oilers need to pick up three points against Colorado and Vancouver to finish ahead of L.A. The Oilers’ final two games are extremely important.

The Oilers parade to the infirmary continued on Saturday as Max Jones joined Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Jason Dickinson. Hyman is the closest to returning, and I expect him to play in Game 1. Stan Bowman said last week that Draisaitl is still on his original timeline, but that was vague because they never gave a “ready for Game 1 of playoffs” answer in their initial diagnosis. Draisaitl and Hyman skated today, but won’t play tonight. Hyman might play on Thursday, while Draisaitl’s earliest return would be for the playoffs.

“There are steps I have to follow and certain things I have to be able to do,” said Draisaitl. “I’m not there yet right now. We’ll see how that is by the end of the week or whenever Game 1 would be. There are certain things you can play through and other things where you have to think about your future and the team’s future,” he said. “I think our staff and medical staff and myself, we know how to handle this situations, when it’s good to go and when it’s not.”

They won’t rush Draisaitl back. When he feels ready, he will play.

Jason Dickinson’s return date is up in the air. My understanding is that he’s been in a walking boot since the San Jose game to protect his foot, but it is progressing.

“We can’t really have an exact timeline, but he will not be playing these next two games. We’ll reevaluate after the regular season’s done,” said Knoblauch.

Knoblauch said Max Jones will be out three to four weeks, but didn’t give a specific timeline on Dickinson. I suspect that is due to Dickinson’s more being a pain tolerance from a deep bone bruise or hairline fracture. My gut feel is that he will play at some point in Round 1, but whether that is early or late is undetermined.

Draisaitl mentioned earlier there are some injuries you can play through and some you can’t, and I think Dickinson would fall in the former category, but you don’t know when he will be ready due to pain tolerance and likely a bit of mobility concerns. It is difficult to freeze the ankle, because that can restrict mobility. And sometimes it is difficult to see a hairline fracture until the swelling goes down, which is what happened to Jake Walman earlier this season. So the reason Knoblauch can’t give a specific timeline, is that they still don’t know how serious it might or might not be.

The Oilers are banged up heading into the final week of the season and they called up Isaac Howard yesterday to ensure they have 12 healthy forwards available for tonight. Howard will play with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jack Roslovic, and hopefully he can bring some more offence.

“He is a better player now than he was earlier in the year,” said Knoblauch. “He’s better prepared to handle a big role, and we felt it was good to put him in that spot with two good players.”

Howard said he’s been working on his play away from the puck in Bakersfield.

“Just small details, having my stick in the right lane in the defensive zone, being in better positions,” said Howard when I asked him what small details he’s worked on.

He also got some PK time the past few games, which is great for his development.

The Avalanche are banged up as well. Cale Makar, Josh Manson and Nazem Kadri won’t play tonight. That is two of the Avs’ top four D-men. Colorado has nothing to play for as they’ve wrapped up the President’s trophy, and the Oilers should be the most desperate team. They need a win—and need to play like a team in need of a win— to ensure they remain in the Pacific division bracket.

— Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was hit in the face by a puck during Saturday’s Avalanche/Golden Knights game and he won’t be on the Avs’ road trip due to facial fractures and a corneal abrasion. Keegan Kolesar was in the process of dumping the puck into the Avalanche zone when Jack Drury checked his stick, and the change in direction caused Kolesar to fire the puck at the Avalanche bench. Bednar won’t require surgery and is expected to be back on the bench for the playoffs.

— Don’t look know, but round five between the Oilers and Kings is still a possibility. The Oilers and Anaheim Ducks each have 90 points and two games remaining, while L.A. has 87 points and three games to play. L.A. plays Seattle, Calgary and Vancouver. The Ducks need at least one win, and maybe three points to hold off L.A.

— Draisaitl on his injury four weeks ago against Nashville. “I knew there was something wrong right away. I’m not necessarily a player who goes off like that with every little pinch I feel. I feel this was something a little more serious,” he said, adding he came back to try it because in the moment it didn’t feel that bad, but the next morning he knew it was serious.

— Martin Necas needs one point to reach 100 for the first time in his career. The Avs don’t have much to play for tonight, but that is something that will motivate them. Necas, Mark Schiefele and David Pastrnak all have 99 points and should be the sixth, seventh and eighth players to reach the century mark. Draisaitl will finish the regular season with 97 points and miss out on his seventh 100-point season. He was on pace for 120+ points before getting injured. Bad luck for him.

— Spencer Stastney didn’t stay late at practice today, which suggests he could draw in the lineup tonight. Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman both skated, but I noticed Ekholm looked in discomfort on his last shift in the LA game, and Walman had another blocked shot that looked to sting him. Stastney might draw in for one of them tonight.