Report: Oiler will make his return after a prolonged absence.

The Oilers will get one of their injured first overall draft picks back in the line up when forward Nail Yakupov makes his return on Thursday night.

The loss of Yakupov was a tough pill to swallow, not only was he out for an extended period of tim, having last played all the way back in November, but also because of how he was injured. The injury to Yakupov was entirely avoidable and was caused by a linesman who was clearly out of position, and an NHL official should never have a drastic impact on a game, much less on a team's season.

It's been a tough road back for Yakupov, but he is in fact back, and the team is hoping he can give the them a shot in the arm until the eventual return of Connor McDavid.

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