The Edmonton Oilers were without forward Kailer Yamamoto Thursday night and will miss him for a Saturday matinee with the Florida Panthers.
This, according to Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft, who said after Thursday’s 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes the forward has retuned to Edmonton.
“Kailer went back to Edmonton for reevaluation,” he said. “[Yamamoto] took a knock in the Tampa game and went back to be revaluated. He won’t play against Florida either.”
Yamamoto played 15:52 against the Lightning on Tuesday and took 22 shifts. In looking at the NHL’s time on ice reports, he appeared to miss no shifts throughout the night.
He didn’t take the morning skate for the Oilers Thursday and wasn’t out for the pre-game skate, either.
Yamamoto, who has been a streaky player in the past, has had a brutal start to his season with just three assists in 13 games. He’s remained in the OIlers’ top-six for most of the year, but was bumped down the lineup prior to injury.
His streaks in the past have seen him go for stretches like this without producing much offensively, but he’s typically been able to rebound at some point or another.
With Evander Kane already out of the Oilers’ lineup, their depth will continue to be tested in the games to come.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.