Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman was the guest on Sportsnet’s After Hours program Saturday night where he provided an update on the injury status of superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Draisaitl has missed the last two games dealing with an undisclosed injury after being shaken up Tuesday against Utah, while McDavid was injured in Thursday’s game against the Jets.
Bowman, meanwhile, said both players are expected back sooner, rather than later.
“Thankfully they’re not serious injuries,” he said, later adding he expected them back before the regular season was over. “As far as the exact timeline, we don’t know that, but it’s not going to be a long time. Not concerned.
“I think you always want them back in the lineup, and you want them there every night, but missing a little time at this time of year probably isn’t the worst thing. I think Leon will be back before Connor, but I don’t think he’ll be too much after that.”
The Oilers got off to a great start in their first game without Draisaitl or McDavid Saturday night, beating the Seattle Kraken 5-4. Few helped lift the Oilers more than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored goals at even-strength, on the power play and on the penalty kill.
He became the 11th player in Oilers history to score a hat trick in such fashion, with the only two others being Leon Draisaitl (April 1st, 2023) and Shawn Horcoff (Jan. 10, 2006).
The Oilers have a few days to allow McDavid and Draisaitl to get healthy, as they won’t play again until Wednesday when the Dallas Stars roll into town. The three days off will be the Oilers longest span without games since the 4 Nations Face-Off, and second longest since the Christmas Break.
Edmonton will face the Kraken again Thursday with a quick trip to Seattle, before closing out the month of March next Saturday night against the Calgary Flames.
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.
