Oilers finally get some good news on Leon Draisaitl

Leon Draisaitl hasn't played a game in nearly a month, but Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed today that the superstar forward is nearing a return.

Draisaitl still hasn't taken the ice since suffering a lower body injury in early March but is expected to hit the ice this week in anticipation of a return for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Leon is going to be on the ice this week, and I don't anticipate him playing any games in the regular season," the Oilers coach said. "And then playoffs, sometime in that first round if things go well."

The Oilers are hopeful that Draisaitl will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.

"There's a period of time that we anticipated him returning and, as we said, it's going to be right around the end of the regular season, the start of the playoffs, and if he gets into that first game, that's great, but he has not been on the ice yet," Knoblauch said. "We anticipate he will be on the ice sometime this week, we'll have an indication of how that's going to go, but it'll probably be sometime in that first round."

Meanwhile, Zach Hyman is also slated to miss time of the next week or so, but Knoblauch isn't ruling him out for the last few games of the season.

"I would think (Hyman) could play one if not two games before the end of the season," said Knoblauch. "So this week he's not playing."