The Edmonton Oilers will be without captain Connor McDavid for the next two-to-three weeks, the club said in a statement Wednesday.
McDavid was injured on his first shift of Monday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, one the Oilers lost 6-1, when he was tripped by defenceman Zach Werenski and jammed his left skate into the boards. The collision happened just 15 seconds into the game, and while McDavid would finish his shift that lasted 37 seconds, he would leave the game and not return.
here’s a slow motion look at connor mcdavid getting tripped, and his left skate hitting the boards. pic.twitter.com/aCIspix2WE
— zach (@zjlaing) October 28, 2024
The Oilers have since recalled forwards Noah Philp and Drake Caggiula from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, looking to crack into the lineup on Thursday night when Edmonton visits the Nashville Predators.
While missing no time would’ve been ideal, a two-to-three-week timeline is great news for the Oilers. A two-week absence would result in McDavid missing six games, while a three-week absence could bump that up to as many as 10 games.
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov suffered an ankle injury earlier this season as a result of a similar mechanism, in which he crashed into the boards skate first. He missed eight games for the Panthers, who gave him a two-to-three-week timeline, as well. In his first game back Monday night, he posted a goal and an assist in 5-2 win.
McDavid missed six games last season due to minor injuries and maintenance, and the Oilers went 1-4-1 in his absence, getting outscored 22-13. The Oilers will undoubtedly need to avoid that kind of stretch this season without their captain, as the team has already sputtered to a 4-5-1 record and .450 points percentage through their first 10 games.
The good news is the season is long and McDavid’s absence, relatively speaking, will be short, but that doesn’t change the fact that they will need to keep their heads above water. Leon Draisaitl will be looked to to step up, but so too will support players like Zach Hyman, Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jeff Skinner, all of whom due for positive goal regression.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
