For a lot of causes, Thursday evening’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets was onerous for the Edmonton Oilers to bear.
They entered the evening with out celebrity ahead Leon Draisaitl, who was introduced as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury after the crew’s morning skate. Edmonton additionally noticed two main accidents happen mid-game. Franchise centerman Connor McDavid left the sport earlier than the beginning of the third interval after showing to endure a lower-body harm on his last shift of the second interval — which solely lasted 16 seconds.
Later within the third, concussion spotters pressured beginning goaltender Stuart Skinner to exit the sport. The Oilers misplaced 4-3 in time beyond regulation — and at the moment are pressured to choose up the items of three essential absences. Each Draisaitl and McDavid will head for additional testing on Friday to assist decide the severity and length of their accidents, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
No replace has been offered on Skinner, although head coach Kris Knoblauch did share that Skinner was pissed off over getting pulled early, per Jason Gregor of Sports 1440. He’ll must be cleared of a concussion earlier than he can step again into the lineup.
This information is a horrible blow to an Oilers membership that gave the impression to be firing on all cylinders. They have been on a three-game win streak coming into Thursday evening, having outscored opponents 12-3. McDavid scored 5 factors, and Draisaitl scored three factors over that streak — whereas Skinner saved 21 of the 22 pictures he confronted in a single sport of motion. The trio served essential roles in Edmonton’s success, and shedding them so abruptly can be a blow to the Oilers’ roster.
Heart Adam Henrique took over for McDavid on the highest line within the speedy wake of his harm, whereas newcomer Max Jones slotted right into a fourth-line position in Draisaitl’s absence. Henrique will probably keep a top-six position whereas McDavid sits out, although precedence minutes may go to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has six factors in his final three video games. Jones would be the de facto fill-in winger, although he may face competitors from wholesome scratch Derek Ryan. Ryan hasn’t performed since Jan. 11 and has 5 factors in 33 video games this season. Jones has one help in six video games with the Oilers.
Edmonton can even watch Evander Kane as they consider deeper harm considerations. Kane hasn’t performed for the reason that 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. He’s been pressured out of this season by belly and knee surgical procedures however returned to Edmonton’s practices for the primary time on Thursday. He appears unlikely to return earlier than the common season ends. Nonetheless, any prolonged absences for Draisaitl or McDavid may push the Oilers to think about load administration with simply 13 video games left of their season. Edmonton would want to clear roughly $5M in cap area to lively Kane off of long-term injured reserve earlier than the season ended.
In the meantime, Edmonton will probably be pushed to recall Collin Delia or Olivier Rodrigue ought to Skinner must miss further time. Pickard, who may get an open path to a short-term beginning position, has posted a 3-2-0 document and a .904 save proportion in his final 5 begins.
