EDMONTON — An injury to Connor McDavid and his uncertain status for Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights and possibly beyond doesn’t change the focus for the Edmonton Oilers.
“The most important thing is the playoffs and that we are ready,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We’ve got depth.
“Obviously, we’re not going to replace Connor, but we do have other bodies. We aren’t short-manned. We want to make sure everyone’s as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs.”
The Oilers captain didn’t participate in practice on Tuesday, a day after the team’s top players were kept off the ice for rest reasons ahead of a hectic late-season schedule before the playoffs begin.
Knoblauch said McDavid is day to day with a lower-body injury. He added McDavid felt some discomfort late in Saturday’s 4-2 win in Calgary and was held off the ice for the last couple minutes of the game.
McDavid fell awkwardly while cutting toward the net on a power play with 6:36 remaining in regulation. He got up slowly after Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom froze the puck.
He played two more shifts — the last of which saw him trying to drive around Flames forward Blake Coleman, who appeared to briefly fall on the back of McDavid’s left leg. McDavid glided to the bench from there to end a 33-second shift with 2:41 on the clock. He wasn’t on the ice when the Flames pulled Markstrom in search of the tying goal, which was an uncommon occurrence.
This was earlier in the period. #Oilers #NHL https://t.co/9mBHVzDakM pic.twitter.com/SI2ONClfmD
— Derek Van Diest (@DerekVanDiest) April 9, 2024
Dylan Holloway was recalled from AHL Bakersfield and skated on a line with Ryan McLeod and Corey Perry at Tuesday’s practice. That’s as good an indicator as any that McDavid is unlikely to play Wednesday.
“It’ll be in Connor’s hands,” Knoblauch said. “We don’t know how bad the injury is and we don’t know how early he can come in. He has the best feel of what’s best for him.
“We’re looking long term and we’re being protective.”
Regardless of McDavid’s status, the Oilers have something to prove to the Golden Knights heading into a potential first-round playoff matchup. The Knights ended the Oilers’ 16-game winning streak after the All-Star break. They ended their season last May in the form of a devastating six-game loss for Edmonton.
The Kings are the Oilers’ likeliest first opponent — a 53 percent chance via colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s projections. Vegas is next on the list for the Oilers at 27 percent. Of course, the two teams could easily play each other in the second round as well.
The Oilers are 7-2-1 against the Golden Knights since the start of the 2021-22 season — which marked the return to a normal schedule following the Canadian division campaign. Included in that record is a 1-1 mark this season, the loss coming after the All-Star break to end their streak.
It’s a good time to get another crack at them.
“It’s always tight games against them,” Leon Draisaitl said. “There’s a little bit of history in the playoffs. It should be a good test for us.”
It’ll be a particularly good test if McDavid doesn’t play.
Any missed time from McDavid will all but ruin his chances of winning a fourth straight Art Ross Trophy and sixth of his career.
McDavid is third in the scoring race with 130 points, six back of leader Nikita Kucherov and three behind Nathan MacKinnon. Tampa Bay and Colorado both play Tuesday night. The Oilers have six games left, one more than the Lightning and two more than the Avalanche before Tuesday.
Personal accolades for McDavid should be secondary to him being in the best state ahead of the playoffs. McDavid undoubtedly feels the same way since he’s said numerous times this season that the Oilers are playing for the Stanley Cup and that’s his primary focus.
The Oilers have an outside chance at catching Vancouver for top spot in the Pacific Division. They’re five points behind the Canucks but have played two fewer games. The two teams are scheduled to play in Edmonton on Saturday night for the fourth and final time this season. The Canucks have won the first three matchups.
“We want to win the division if we can,” winger Zach Hyman said. “I think it’s pretty attainable right now. It’s always good to have something to play for down the stretch because you want to keep that competitive fire. It’s important to go into the playoffs playing your best.”
The Oilers will have to finish ahead of the Canucks because they don’t hold the first tie-breaker of regulation wins. The Canucks have 42 non-overtime-or-shootout victories, whereas the Oilers have just 37.
With the divisional title a longer shot, the last two weeks are more about maintaining good health or returning to it.
“You’re not going to get a team that’s not good from here on out,” Draisaitl said. “It’s just a balance of continuing to sharpen up our details, have good habits down the stretch here and make sure we carry that into the playoffs.”
Although, message sending doesn’t hurt, too.
The Oilers crushed arguably their biggest nemesis, the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 last Friday. It was one of their best efforts of the season.
Doing the same against the Golden Knights wouldn’t be the worst thing with less than two weeks to go before the postseason.
Except there is a caveat — the one pertaining to McDavid right now.
“We’re not going to sacrifice the health of anybody or push too hard that we’re not in an ideal situation heading into the playoffs,” Knoblauch said.
(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)
