The outcome of Thursday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets was meaningless.

Win, lose, draw — it doesn’t matter because everyone in Edmonton is worried about the status of superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.

The former was shaken up Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club, getting taken down awkwardly in the neutral zone partway through the game. While he would remain in the game in search of his 50th goal, he wouldn’t be in the lineup for last night’s game, which the Oilers managed to secure a point in a 4-3 overtime loss.

Nothing to worry about, right? Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said the team wanted to avoid it being a long-term thing, and that the injury is something he could likely play through. That’s the smart move.

But the concern-o-meter in Edmonton cranked up to maximum strength by the time the game against the Jets was over, as McDavid had left the game with an injury of his own. He was slashed on the left wrist by Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey last in the second period, and the Oilers were quick to rule him out with a…. lower-body injury?

It undoubtedly left some confused, given there was no apparent incident at the moment where such an injury could be pinpointed. A high-level of concern skyrocketed Friday when Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that both members of the Dynamic Duo would be getting imaging done today to better understand the severity of their injuries.

Gulp.

The Oilers found a way to step up in their absence on Thursday night. Remaining on the top line for a third straight game, Jeff Skinner had a breakout performance, scoring a beautiful goal five and a half minutes into the game, walking into the offensive zone and firing a shot from the high-slot that cleanly beat Connor Hellebuyck.

While Cole Perfetti would get one back in that frame, Skinner extended the Oilers lead in the second, getting credit for a goal in which Perfetti may have put into his own net. It all came off the back of hard work, though, as Skinner beared down on a puck in the slot that Perfetti was trying to clear.

Josh Morrissey would tie it up at two before McDavid left the game, ruled out for the third period, and in a scenario like that, it would’ve been somewhat understandable if the Oilers lost the game. And while it appeared that’s what was going to happen when Brandon Tanev banged a loose puck home with 3:56 into the third, Edmonton stuck with it.

Stuart Skinner got pulled with six minutes left in the third by a concussion spotter after a collision with Jets winger Gabriel Vilardi, only adding to the injury woes. But the Oilers stuck with it as Zach Hyman found a loose puck of his own to send it to overtime. It was there Kyle Connor would ice the game not long after a brutal offensive zone giveaway by Darnell Nurse.

Now, it’s a waiting game Friday morning for the Oilers and their fans, hoping that whatever ails their stars won’t be anything long-term, and that as the schedule against Western Conference teams continues, they can make a swift return.

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.