The worst possible news for the Edmonton Oilers became official on Wednesday, April 10, as Connor McDavid missed his team’s 5-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights and remains out with a lower-body injury.
McDavid is considered day-to-day, per coach Kris Knoblauch, but McDavid decided to sit this game out on his own as revealed by Knoblauch ahead of the game on Tuesday, April 9, and as Heavy documented following the news of the team captain’s injury.
According to Oilers beat reporter Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, reporting after the April 10 game, Kris Knoblauch said Connor McDavid’s status is “still day-to-day,” and that he’s optimistic McDavid “can play Friday” in the matchup against the Arizona Coyotes.
Knoblauch, however, added that Edmonton “might have to be cautious because Friday is the first of back-to-back games.” With that, the head coach of the Oilers avoided giving a definitive timeline and date for McDavid’s return.
Oilers Have a Pivotal Game Against Vancouver on Saturday
The Oilers still have five games left in the regular season between April 12 and April 18 and the franchise expects McDavid to play before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 20.
Edmonton hosts the Arizona Coyotes on Friday and the Vancouver Canucks one day later. The Oilers stay home for a contest against the NHL-worst San Jose Sharks the following Monday.
“I think Connor knows what the big picture is,” Knoblauch told reporters after practice on Wednesday, April 10. “I believe that he is competitive and wants to contribute as much as possible and not take himself out of the lineup.
“But I think he understands where our team is at, and obviously where his body’s at, and what we are looking for in the future.”
With the 5-1 win over Vegas on Wednesday and the Canucks’ 4-3 loss to Arizona, the Oilers (101 points) are a bit closer to Vancouver (105) in the standings, now sitting four points behind them with two games in hand over the Pacific Division leaders.
Both teams have a meeting scheduled for Saturday, on the back end of the back-to-back coming up next in Edmonton’s schedule.
Will Connor McDavid Rush His Return to Reach 100 Assists?
While Knoblauch is optimistic McDavid can return to the lineup as early as Friday against Arizona, it’d be reasonable for both the team and the player to opt for sitting that game out considering the importance of Saturday’s matchup against Vancouver.
On top of that, the Oilers are aiming at putting together a deep postseason run, not just winning a couple of virtually meaningless games at the tail end of the regular season.
McDavid watched Wednesday’s game inside the arena, as shown in Sportsnet’s broadcast of the matchup.
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