Edmonton Oilers coach gives injury updates on several players with playoffs looming
At this point, is there anybody on the Edmonton Oilers who isn’t injured?
It’s been a nightmarish last few weeks for the Oilers when it comes to the IR, as several key players have either gone down with injuries or have contracted illnesses that have kept them out of action.
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm, and Jake Walman have missed games over the last while, and the latest news has been mixed. Some players are close to returning, while others are set to miss significant time.
With the playoffs expected to start this weekend, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch met with reporters on Monday morning, where he gave a very extensive status update on all these players.
Coach Knoblauch spoke with the media following morning skate to provide injury updates on Mattias Ekholm & other #Oilers players while confirming Quinn Hutson is set to make his @NHL debut tonight.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/ht4f7H0GMC
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 14, 2025
Oilers staying cautious with 97 & 29
The Oilers captain has looked magnificent since returning to the lineup last week, notching an impressive nine points over his last three games. McDavid now sits at 99 points on the season and is looking as good as he has all year. That is a very positive sign for both Edmonton and #97, but the coaching staff is still taking a cautious approach with him before the playoffs.
McDavid will not be in the lineup against the LA Kings on Monday night.
“That’s precautionary, just with us playing three [games] in four [nights], back-to-back [games],” Knoblauch said. “We feel we have too much to lose there. We’re playing that extremely safely.”
It’s unclear whether McDavid will suit up for the regular season finale against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. However, Knoblauch did say that Draisaitl, who has missed the last five games with an injury, is “questionable” to play the final game of the season.
Both players are expected to be ready for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the LA Kings.
Ekholm missing significant time
The news is only getting worse when it comes to Ekholm’s status.
Knoblauch confirmed with reporters that the Swedish defender reaggravated a pre-existing injury during last week’s matchup against the Sharks. While he was not able to give an exact timeline for his return, the Oilers head coach did confirm that Ekholm would be out for the entirety of the first round.
“It looks like Mattias will be out for a while and won’t be returning for a while,” Knoblauch confirmed. “He’s not playing tonight and not playing first-round playoffs.”
This will put pressure on Walman to step up, though he is also rehabbing an undisclosed injury. Knoblauch said that his injury is not nearly as serious as Ekholm’s and has given him a “day-to-day” tag. Walman will not play against the Kings and will “maybe” play on Wednesday.
Nuge returns to the lineup
On the bright side, Knoblauch was able to give some good news: Nugent-Hopkins will return to action on Monday night.
The longest-tenured Oilers player missed the last three games with an illness but will draw in as Edmonton’s top centre tonight with McDavid and Draisaitl out of action.
Hyman, on the other hand, remains out of the lineup, but there seems to be some optimism that he’ll be ready for Game 1.
Is an Evander Kane return imminent?
In terms of Evander Kane and Trent Frederic, it remains to be seen if either can be healthy enough to start the playoffs.
Frederic was injured when he was acquired by Edmonton at the deadline and re-injured himself in his Oilers debut earlier this week. Knoblauch confirmed that he would not be playing in either of the last two games of the season, but they were hopeful he could get back into action for the playoffs.
For Kane, Knoblauch did not say definitively whether he would be healthy at the start of the playoffs. However, Kane did meet with the media, where he sounded fairly optimistic.
He stopped just short of saying he would be in the lineup for Game 1.
“I feel a lot more confident coming back this year, at this time, being in shape, being ready, and feeling as good as I possibly can for when I do come back,” Kane said. “I want to be a big contributor to help us to win, and I feel I am really close to being able to do that.”
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