NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed on today's edition of Saturday's Headlines that the Edmonton Oilers are expecting Leon Draisaitl back from injury before Connor McDavid.
Draisaitl and McDavid were hurt in subsequent games, and both Oilers stars went for medical imaging for their injuries this week.
Leon Draisaitl expected back from injury before Connor McDavid
The good news overall from Friedman is that neither injuries have any long-term concerns for the playoffs, but also that McDavid could return sooner than the medical team currently projects.
As of today, it appears likely that Leon Draisaitl's timeline is ahead of Connor McDavid's, and the belief is that Draisaitl may return before McDavid. But I've been warned: McDavid has blown past injury timelines before. That's where it stands today. No concern about their long term availability.- Elliotte Friedman
Friedman's comments about McDavid returning early from injury is something Oilers fans have seen throughout his career, outside of his catastrophic rookie year injury.
This season after McDavid was injured against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Oilers expected him to miss significantly more time than he ended up missing - just a few games instead of potentially a few weeks.
The confirmation that neither player will be out long term means there was good news from the MRIs and both players were cleared from structural damage, and should be fully healthy before the playoffs.
Now, the Oilers need to prioritize healing up their stars and working up the standings to get back home ice advance in the playoffs. They'll begin the challenge tonight on home ice against the Seattle Kraken.
