Kris Knoblauch shares an update on Connor McDavid.

The Edmonton Oilers have been without their captain as of late and unfortunately that trend will continue this evening.

On Saturday, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke with reporters and confirmed that Oilers star forward Connor McDavid would once again be held out of the lineup. McDavid has been nursing a lower body injury and with the Stanley Cup playoffs right around the corner it seems as though the Oilers are taking every precaution with their most valuable player, as they should.

McDavid's late season absence has unfortunately likely knocked him out of the running for several NHL awards, knocking him well out of the running for the Art Ross Trophy and likely knocking him out of contention for the Hart as well.

Knoblauch emphasized earlier this week that the team's primary focus was on the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs and there's little doubt in my mind that the hyper-competitive McDavid feels the same way in spite of the fact that I'm sure he would have loved to take home some hardware after such a strong season.

This does however show both the team and the players commitment to winning in the postseason, especially with such a pivotal regular season game on the schedule this evening. The Oiler still have a chance to overtake the Vancouver Canucks for the Pacific Division lead but will need a win over those same Canucks this evening in order to make that happen. Despite that the Oilers are playing the long game and keeping McDavid out of the lineup tonight.