With the list of injuries seemingly piling up at a bad time for the Edmonton Oilers, fans were anxiously awaiting updates on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitil in particular. Well, said updates came on Friday, and while not disastrous, the situation is also not ideal either.
The official announcement from Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, is that McDavid and Draisaitl will both be out for up to a week. As per Derek Van Diest of NHL.com, Knoblauch said: "Connor’s got a doctor’s appointment today to see how long he’s going to be, and we’re not anticipating him playing tomorrow for sure. I would say day to day, maybe a week. We’ll find out more today. Same kind of timeline [for Draisaitl]. He won’t be back immediately; he’ll be up to a week."
However, Pierre LeBrun made an appearance on TSN Friday, and he predicts McDavid will be out at least a week, while his teammate will be absent for maybe a week or two. If we go by this prognosis, the duo will each miss the Oilers' next three games, with Draisaitl potentially missing more playing time.
This is of course a challenging situation for the Oiler, who have struggled for consistency as it is this season even with their two best players in the lineup. Now, the team has to find a way to keep themselves in second place in the Pacific Division and on course for that valuable home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, without two of the top five players in the NHL.
Oilers more focused on the long term rather than short
Ultimately though, home ice advantage or not, the Oilers' main concern is being as healthy as possible come playoff time. Knoblauch said: "Obviously, we have to be cognizant of what’s ahead of us. The playoffs are very important and pushing guys that are injured to make themselves worse is not ideal. But even if it was game 5 or 6, we wouldn’t want to put somebody in a position where they’re going to make themselves worse who had a nagging injury."
On the more positive side, Stuart Skinner has been cleared after being pulled from Thursday's game versus the Winnipeg Jets, at the request of the concussion spotter. The goalie was furious about the decision at the time, but you can never be too careful when it comes to things like a potential concussion; plus, he was playing poorly on the night as it was.
As a final piece of injury news, Oilers fans will have to wait a while longer yet to see Trent Frederic in action. As per Oilers TV host and reporter Tony Brar, the forward will be out for at least another two weeks.
Frederic was obtained by the Oilers ahead of the Mar. 7 trade deadline, as part of a three-team deal on Mar. 4. At the time, TSN's Chris Johnston had indicated the 2016 first round draft pick might not be available until the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see if 'at least two weeks' turns it three, four, or more.
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