Concerning updates on Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
Bad news regarding Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on Monday.
Edmonton Oilers fans who were hoping the new week would bring some good news regarding their two injured superstar forwards are going to have to wait a little longer.
On Monday, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed to members of the media that both McDavid and Draisaitl were likely to miss all 3 games on the schedule for the Oilers this week. Knoblauch was firm when it came to the subject of McDavid, but did leave a little bit more room for interpretation when it came to Draisaitl.
"Connor no," said Knoblauch erasing any possibility of McDavid returning in the short term. "Leon is not day to day yet, so they are gonna be still a while. We'll be playing a couple of games without them at least."
The timing is tough for the Oilers who are in an intense battle in the National Hockey League's Pacific Division where the Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights are all within 5 points of one another, with all 3 teams trying to ensure the best possible playoff position before the end of the regular season.
That being said, the time off will give both McDavid and Draisaitl a chance to rest and get re-energized before the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, so this could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Oilers in the long term. That is of course assuming that neither of these injuries will have any lasting impact when both men make their inevitable returns to the ice.
The Oilers will face the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken on Thursday and the Calgary Flames on Saturday, with the two stars expected to miss all 3 of those. That means that the soonest we could see them return would be next Tuesday's game against the aforementioned Golden Knights, which for the aforementioned reasons could be a big one.
For Knoblauch's full comments today, check out the video below:
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