The injury bug bit the Edmonton Oilers hard on Tuesday night.

While they walked out of Colorado with a 4-3 victory over the Avalanche, they did so carrying out a few wounded players. Defenceman Ty Emberson and forward Colton Dach both left the game in the first period after some physical play, while netminder Connor Ingram was knocked out of the game after Nathan MacKinnon crashed hard into him in the second period.

The Oilers hit the road to Dallas to square up with the Stars, and this will be a rodeo where Edmonton is short a few players. Both Emberson and Dach have returned to Edmonton for further evaluation, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Thursday, while Ingram has been cleared to play, and will serve as backup to Tristan Jarry.

With Emberson and Dach out of the lineup, Adam Henrique is set to return on the fourth line alongside Josh Samanski and Trent Frederic, and Spencer Stastney will slide in on the blue line alongside Jake Walman.

The Oilers forward group otherwise remains the same, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman flanking Connor McDavid on the top line, and Vasily Podkolzin and Jack Roslovic on Leon Draisaitl’s wings. Jason Dickinson will centre the third line, with Matt Savoie and Kasperi Kapanen on his sides.

The blue line sees some tweaks, however, despite Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard remaining on the top pairing. Darnell Nurse will partner with Connor Murphy on the second pairing, giving Walman and Stastney the third.

Edmonton will wrap up its four-game road trip over the next two nights, squaring up with the Stars on Thursday and the St. Louis Blues on Friday. Two big wins have come the Oilers’ way already, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Sunday and the Avalanche 4-3 Tuesday.

The Oilers will return home next week for a four-game homestand, welcoming the Nashville Predators on Sunday, the San Jose Sharks Tuesday, the Florida Panthers Thursday and the Tampa Bay Lightning next Saturday night.

Puck drop against the Stars is set for 6 p.m. MT.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.