As much as I know the playoffs are a time when many players are skating through injuries, that doesn’t make it any easier to find out that all three of Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Evander Kane have missed the last two practices leading up to their second round series against the Calgary Flames.

As much as the big story around Edmonton over the last few days has been about Leon Draisaitl’s high ankle sprain, I have to admit that it’s concerning that both Kane and Nugent-Hopkins have also missed the last couple of practice days to recover from whatever is going on with them. Even though I’d fully expect Kane and RNH to be ready to go for Game 1, I don’t think I have to tell anyone reading this why having three of our top-six players banged up is a problem. That said, there hasn’t been any updates at all on what’s happening with Kane and Nuge so we’ll have to hope that these last couple of days are simply precautionary.

As for Draisaitl, I can’t lie and suggest that I’m not worried about how badly he’s hurting right now. As I wrote yesterday, a high ankle sprain isn’t going to magically disappear over three days and I do wonder how effective Leon will be despite his best efforts. While I have no doubt that Draisaitl will do everything humanly possible to contribute in this series, I do wonder whether his body will be able to handle the stress that’s likely to come.

On the latest episode of Better Lait Than Never, I ran through the incredible environment at Rogers Place during Game 7 and walked through how excited I am about the Battle of Alberta. Subscribe to Better Lait Than Never for FREE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts from!