Connor McDavid’s night lasted just 37 seconds Monday, before he was removed from the game with what the Edmonton Oilers are calling a lower-body injury.

McDavid was on the ice for the opening faceoff, and 15 seconds in, burst towards the right offensive blueline, trying to grab a loose puck. Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski was near, tripping McDavid as the Oilers captain crashed hard into the boards. A slow-motion look at the collision showed McDavid’s left skate jamming into the boards. There was no penalty on the play.

He would stay on the ice for a 37-second shift, but as he left the ice, he was holding his left skate off the ice, and entered the Oilers bench gingerly.

In his wake, the Oilers struggled through the rest of the first period, outscored 3-0 by the Blue Jackets who took a commanding lead.

All concern, however, will be on the status of McDavid, who has rarely missed games during his career. While he missed a chunk of his rookie season with a broken collarbone, and in the Oilers final game of the 2018-19 season, suffered a significant knee injury that included a fully torn posterior cruciate ligament, torn medial and lateral menisci, fully torn popliteus muscle, a complete tear of the posterior capsule and a tibial plateau fracture. McDavid, however, didn’t undergo surgery for the injury, and was on the ice for Game 1 of the 2019-20 season, scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The Oilers captain had appeared in nine games prior to Monday’s, scoring three goals and 10 points, including a two-assist night Sunday in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

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.