Lets get the positive news out of the way first, with the Edmonton Oilers beating the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in a tense game on Thursday night. It marks their third consecutive victory and takes them to within four points of securing a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
However, it remains to be seen what the cost of the win in San Jose will be, with Leon Draisaitl forced to leave the action at the 9:52 mark of the second period. He didn't return for the rest of the night and of course thoughts turn to if the undisclosed injury is anything serious.
Speaking to the media postgame, Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch understandably was unable to shed any light on the situation with Draisaitl. As per Max Miller of NHL.com, Knoblauch said: "No, I don't (have an update). I haven't seen our training staff yet. You never want to miss those guys. You never want your top players not to play because every time they're not in, it decreases your chances of winning because they are good players."
Oilers superstar on a roll prior to his latest injury
Draisaitl was only in his third game back from his previous ailment which saw him miss four contests, with the Oilers only win once in that stretch. Since his return the five-time NHL All-Star had produced five points, including three goals.
Connor McDavid has himself been missing for the past six games through injury and remains the top player on the team, but the reality is that Draisaitl has been better than him this season. The German native has 52 goals on the season -- best in the NHL by 10 at the time of writing -- and was seemingly in with an excellent chance of surpassing his previous season-high of 55.
Oilers have to consider their approach moving forward
However, now this will depend on how serious Draisaitl's latest injury is, and even if he's okay, if the Oilers want to risk playing him again ahead of the playoffs. The team has seven games remaining until the postseason which, barring a disaster, should include them.
As you'd expect, Knoblauch is attempting to focus on the potential positives of what is going on right now. He said: "What happens is other guys have some opportunities to play, get some confidence, hopefully score some goals, because we're going to need them."
The Oilers' next contest will have huge bearing on their seeding come playoff time, with them facing the Los Angeles Kings on the road on Saturday afternoon. As things stand they are two points behind their Pacific Division rival for that crucial second place and home-ice advantage in a potential first round matchup.
It helps that the Oilers also have to face the Kings again at home, in the second-last game of the 2024-25 regular season. However, first things first, they need to win in Los Angeles on Saturday night, otherwise that final matchup in Edmonton might not matter in the grand scheme of things.
In truth Oilers fans won't be sweating home-ice advantage, as long as they actually make the playoffs full stop and have their big guns back in time. In this respect it will be interesting what Friday's update will be in respect of Draisaitl, with plenty of people in Edmonton probably nervously refreshing their social media feeds throughout the day.
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