The Edmonton Oilers will have to adjust to life with their superstar centres, head coach Kris Knoblauch said Friday.
It comes after Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were both injured in the team’s two most recent games. Draisaitl was left shaken up during Tuesday’s 7-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club, getting hauled down in the second period. He would finish the game searching for his 50th goal of the season, but didn’t have such luck, and was out for Thursday’s game against the Jets.
McDavid, meanwhile, was injured in the second period of that game, a 4-3 overtime loss, but it isn’t exactly clear what happened. He was on the receiving end of a slash to the left wrist from Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey late in that frame, the Oilers ruled him out with a lower-body injury.
Knoblauch provided an update on both of their statuses during a media scrum Friday morning.
Question: Is there an update on Connor?Knoblauch: “Connor’s got a doctor’s appointment today just to see how long it’s going to be. We’re not anticipating him playing tomorrow, for sure.”Q: Is he day-to-day?Knoblauch: “I would say day-to-day, maybe a week. We’ll find out more today.”Q: And Leon?Knoblauch: “Same kind of timeline. Won’t be back immediately. He’ll be probably up to a week.”
Both McDavid and Draisaitl underwent imaging Friday, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported, with those results being able to solidify a timeline for their return.
The Oilers will play four games in the next eight days, hosting the Seattle Kraken on Saturday — which both McDavid and Draisaitl will miss — before hosting the Dallas Stars Wednesday, visiting Seattle on Thursday, and returning to Edmonton to welcome the Calgary Flames to Rogers Place on the 29th.
With 13 games left in the regular season before the playoffs kick off in late April, the Oilers are certainly going to take a cautious approach. On Thursday, Knoblauch said Draisaitl likely would’ve been in the lineup that night had it been the playoffs, but the team was in no rush to get him back into the lineup.
Draisaitl hadn’t missed a game all season, while McDavid had missed six: three due to an ankle injury suffered early in the season, and another trio of games in January due to a suspension for his cross-check on Conor Garland.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
