Edmonton Oilers getting healthier but will still be missing several regulars
The Edmonton Oilers will continue to be without several regulars in their lineup in tonight’s game versus the San Jose Sharks.
The Oilers have been an extremely banged-up group since coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off group, though they were able to get Connor McDavid back into the lineup on Wednesday versus the St. Louis Blues. Based on a report yesterday from Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor, it seemed that Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm, and Jake Walman may all be able to return tonight, but that no longer appears to be entirely the case.
After today’s practice, head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that while Ekholm will suit up, Draisaitl and Walman will remain out of the lineup, as will Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who continues to battle an illness.
The good news for the Oilers is that Draisaitl was skating with the team today. The 29-year-old mentioned he’s hoping to get a few games under his belt before the playoffs get underway.
“I would like to get a game or two, but I also want to put myself where I’m not making it any worse,” Draisaitl said. “I want to be smart about it and be careful with it, cautious with it. Those are the steps that we’re taking right now.”
Some other positive news for the Oilers was that goaltender Stuart Skinner did hit the ice for practice this morning. The 26-year-old will serve as the backup for tonight’s outing in favour of Calvin Pickard, though he has been medically cleared to go.
“He is cleared,” Knoblauch said. “He could play. He could be our starting goalie tonight, but with the amount of time we’ve had for practice, him just being cleared, he’s had a couple pre-game skates, we felt we’d give him a little bit longer. When we play in the back-to-back, he’ll definitely be playing one of those.”
Meanwhile, Trent Frederic remains out of the lineup after re-injuring himself in his Oilers debut last Saturday. He is expected to return early into the first round of the playoffs. As for Evander Kane, he too remains out of the lineup, and a specific return date remains unknown.
Despite all of their injuriesĀ lately, theĀ Oilers have a chance to clinch a playoff spot tonight, but they needĀ just a single point to do so. It’s a big outing, as a win would put them in a tie with the LA Kings for second place in the Pacific Division.
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