Edmonton Oilers
Leon Draisaitl returned against the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
“I still have to check with the staff,” Oilers coach Kris Knobauch said. “He was on the ice to see if he was able to play and I’ll confirm with our medical staff to see if he’s cleared, but I think there’s a good chance he is playing.”
The center, who has missed four games with an undisclosed injury, took regular line rushes during the morning skate. He is third in the NHL with 101 points and leads the League with 49 goals.
“I felt good out there,” Draisaitl said after the morning skate. “Obviously, I have to talk to the doctors and see what the final decision is, but all I can say is I felt pretty good this morning.”
Draisaitl got tangled up with Utah Hockey Club defenseman Olli Maatta, falling to the ice and wincing in pain before skating to the bench in the second period of a 7-1 win on March 18.
“I’ll play through anything if it’s at the right time,” Draisaitl said. “… I think this is not the time where you tinker with things like that looking at the big picture.”
Edmonton is 1-2-1 without Draisaitl.
“To see him out there obviously doing rushes and that sort of thing, hopefully he feels good and all is well, but certainly would be great to have him back,” Oilers forward Adam Henrique said.
The Oilers remain without center Connor McDavid (lower body) for the fourth straight game and goalie Stuart Skinner (head) for the second straight game.
Skinner was injured at 6:34 of the third period in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. He was inadvertently hit in the head by Mikko Rantanen at the top of his crease when the Stars forward cut in front of the net to circle behind the goal line chasing the puck. He did not play in a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
“Day to day, to a week,” Knoblauch said of Skinner. “It’s up in the air, but it’s not immediate that he’s returning.”
Edmonton (41-26-5) is third in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Los Angeles Kings and 11 behind the Vegas Golden Knights. — Derek Van Diest
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