Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who suffered a lower-body injury last night against the San Jose Sharks, may be back sooner than expected. Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch called Draisaitl’s injury “short-term,” and specified that he could be back “well before” playoffs.
Oilers Get Good News on Leon Draisaitl Injury
Draisaitl, the NHL’s current goal-scoring leader with 52 tucks in 71 games, left last night’s game during the second period and did not return. As per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, this is a new injury for Draisaitl. The star forward was hurt after taking a hit from Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow.
Despite his absence, Edmonton went on to win their game 3–2. While he “will not be playing tomorrow,” labelling the injury as “short-term” is a good sign for Oilers fans.
“We’re not too concerned, especially with Leon’s pain tolerance and things that he’s played through before,” Knoblauch added regarding the severity of the injury.
Draisaitl Dealing With Injury Concerns
This is the second time Draisaitl has missed time due to an injury in the past month. He previously missed four games near the end of March. Draisaitl did not dress for the team’s March 20 matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, marking the first time this season that he missed a game. Draisaitl returned on March 29, helping the Oilers to back-to-back 3-2 wins against the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. He put up two goals and two assists during his short stint back.
Draisaitl is not the only star forward that Edmonton is currently missing. Oilers Captain Connor McDavid suffered a lower-body injury against the Jets and has yet to return. Despite missing the past six games, he was seen in a non-contact jersey during Edmonton’s practice on Tuesday. McDavid is also expected to return before the postseason begins.
Edmonton’s Playoff Rivals
The Oilers are riding a three-game win streak and will look to continue that tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings. At this rate, it also looks like Edmonton will face the Kings in the first round of the playoffs. This would be the fourth consecutive year of a Los Angeles and Edmonton first-round matchup.
Since their first recent playoff series in 2021, the Oilers have slowly shaved one game off of each series. They beat the Kings in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023, and five games in 2024.
