The Edmonton Oilers are currently experiencing the unprecedented: life without the dynamic duo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
Both superstar centres are currently missing from Edmonton’s lineup after being banged up last week. Draisaitl suffered an undisclosed injury in the Oilers’ 7-1 victory over Utah Hockey Club on March 18, while McDavid sustained a lower-body injury during Edmonton’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on March 20.
This is the first time during their 10 seasons together in Edmonton that both Draisaitl and McDavid have been sidelined by injury simultaneously. In fact, from 2016-17 to 2023-24, the Oilers played just two regular season or postseason games without at least one of the two in their lineup, and both occasions were season finales in which Draisaitl and McDavid were being rested for the playoffs.
In the absence of Draisaitl and McDavid, the spotlight has shifted to their teammates, many of whom are not having particularly strong seasons. Many Oilers will need to elevate their game if Edmonton is to make another run to the Stanley Cup Final, and the current set of circumstances presents these individuals with an opportunity to step up, starting now.
With that in mind, here are three players besides Draisaitl and McDavid that will be most key to Edmonton making a run in the 2025 NHL Playoffs.
Stuart Skinner
Edmonton’s starting netminder is a pretty obvious choice for this list. No team has ever won the Stanley Cup without good goaltending; many teams have won the championship primarily because of great goaltending; and countless others have failed to get anywhere near the Final because of insufficient goaltending.
Skinner’s play in 2024-25 could rightly be called mediocre. In 48 appearances with the Oilers, he has a 24-17-4 record, while his goals-against average (GAA) of 2.87 and save percentage (SV%) of .895 both rank near the bottom among NHL starting goaltenders. What’s worse is that his performance has declined as the season has worn on: Since the beginning of February, Skinner is just 5-6-0 with a GAA of 3.42 and SV% of .874.
But all that said, Skinner is a proven winner. He’s done it at every level he’s played, including the NHL, when he backstopped Edmonton to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final just one year ago. Not many NHL goaltenders boast that kind of experience; the Oilers just have to hope Skinner plays like it come April and beyond.
Evan Bouchard
Evan Bouchard’s incredible ability was on display last postseason, when he rewrote the record books during Edmonton’s run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The 6-foot-3 Bouchard recorded the most points in NHL history by a defenceman through the first two rounds of a single postseason (20) and went on to rack up the most assists in a single postseason by a defenceman (26).
But just as crucially, he played solid defensively in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, making his contributions a net positive. This season, Bouchard’s defensive play has been so woeful that it’s effectively cancelled out his offensive production.
Bouchard has shown he can be a sufficient defender, but for whatever reason, his head doesn’t always seem to be in the game these days. The Oilers need the focused version of Bouchard, especially because he’s likely to see more ice time than any other Edmonton skater in the coming postseason.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
The importance of the longest-tenured Oiler to Edmonton’s Stanley Cup dreams was never more evident than on Saturday (March 22), when the Oilers defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-4 at Rogers Place: in the Oilers’ first game without both Draisaitl and McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins recorded a hat trick, while becoming just the third Oiler since 1991 to score an even-strength goal, a power-play goal, and a short-handed goal in the same game.
The veteran forward was a force in many facets on Saturday, affecting the game at both ends of the rink. Because he shares a dressing room with two Art Ross and Hart Trophy winners, it’s easy to forget that Nugent-Hopkins is also a No. 1 overall pick who has played in the NHL All-Star Game and put up 100 points in a season. The veteran forward has always been team-first, ceding stardom to his teammates, but when Edmonton needed him on Saturday, Nugent-Hopkins stepped up and put the team on his back.
While his stats have dropped off this season, Nugent-Hopkins is showing signs of ramping up just in time for the playoffs, as he’s recorded nine points while registering a plus-7 rating over the last four games.
On Monday (March 24), Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said that neither Draisaitl nor McDavid will return to action this week, meaning both will miss at least three more games, including against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on Wednesday (March 26).
Edmonton might not win all their games without the dynamic duo, but what the Oilers players gain from taking on greater responsibility during this stretch might ultimately help them win the Stanley Cup.
