Both McDavid and Draisaitl participated in Wednesday’s pre-game skate, but the two superstars remain “day-to-day” to “maybe a week away” from re-joining the team – the best-case scenario being before the end of the regular season, which wraps up on Apr. 16 in San Jose before another potential first-round matchup with the Kings for a fourth straight year.
“I think for our team, we want to get an idea of what our team’s going to look like, how it’s going to play, and we’ve got so many guys that have not been playing the last few weeks,” Knoblauch said. “It’s Draisaitl, McDavid, Ekholm, Frederic… so we’ve got a lot of things to consider before we hit those really important times in the playoffs.”
Philp slotting into the lineup for Nugent-Hopkins is the only change up front for the Oilers, while goaltender Calvin Pickard – fresh off being the Edmonton chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy – will get the start on Wednesday after he turned over the crease to Olivier Rodrigue on Monday to make his starter’s debut against Anaheim.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner won’t back up Pickard tonight, but the No. 1 netminder for the Oilers is expected to be healthy enough to suit up for Friday’s visit from the Sharks for their penultimate home game of the regular season.
The Oilers will need every remaining player on the roster to continue picking up the slack with tonight marking another opportunity for them to clinch a playoff spot with the help of a victory and a Flames’ defeat to the Ducks in Orange County. Edmonton holds a six-point lead on Calgary with the tiebreaker for third place in the Pacific Division with five games remaining.
“Everybody’s got to step up for sure,” Pickard said. “Obviously last game, losing to Anaheim is not a good result, but we did a lot of good things. We just couldn’t put the puck in the net, and then tonight, we’re back home and we’ve got a shorthanded lineup. A lot of guys you can’t replace, but everybody’s just going to have to step up and do their thing.”
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