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Oilers injury update: Draisaitl to skate this week, playoff start status uncertain
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 6, 2026, 17:24 EDT
The return of the Edmonton Oilers‘ second-best player isn’t etched into stone.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch softened on Leon Draisaitl being ready for the first game of the postseason when talking to reporters on Monday. The situation is very fluid, with his exact return uncertain, the coach detailed.
“Leon is going to be on the ice this week, and I don’t anticipate him playing any games in the regular season. And then playoffs, sometime in that first round, if, you know, if things go well,” said Knoblauch.
He’s not ruling Draisaitl out for Game 1 either.
“There’s a period of time that we anticipated him returning, and we said it was going to be right around the end of the regular season, start of playoffs. If he gets in that first game, that’s great. He has not been on the ice yet. We anticipate he will be on the ice sometime this week. We’ll get an indication of how that’s going to go, but probably sometime in that first round.”
Meanwhile, Zach Hyman did not travel with the team on this three-game road trip, which kicks off against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. Hyman missed Saturday’s game against Vegas due to an undisclosed injury, the same one which made him a game-time decision earlier against the Blackhawks.
“I would think that he would play one, if not two, games before the end of the season. This week he’s out, not playing,” said Knoblauch.
Colton Dach could become available soon as well. Knoblauch was asked about his status, but the coach replied that no lineup decisions have been made for Tuesday yet.
Regardless of who’s available for each game, when the team is healthy, expect a rotation of players in and out of the lineup.
“You’re always gonna have injuries. Guys are gonna be banged up,” said Knoblauch. “What do you need going in from game to game? Maybe you need a little more intensity, a little more forechecking, physicality. Maybe you need a penalty killer. Whatever it is, there will be a rotation. We saw in the last two years of playoffs here, where guys are in and on the lineup, just on what the team needs at that time. So yes, this is an opportunity for them to really solidify and say, I deserve to be in that lineup for Game 1 in the playoffs.”
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.
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